A Shinobi A Long Way from Home
by KuramaFTW
Summary: After the climactic battle between Kaguya and the reincarnations of her grandsons Ashura and Indra, Naruto and Sasuke face off one last time but what happens when Naruto is thrown into a new world filled with Digital Monsters.
1. A Whole New World

**After the climactic battle between Kaguya and the reincarnations of her grandsons Ashura and Indra, Naruto and Sasuke face off one last time but what happens when Naruto is thrown into a new world filled with Digital Monsters.**

**A Shinobi A Long Way from Home**

_Chapter I_

_A Whole New World_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Digimon, fucking sucks.

XXX

(The Valley of the End)

It is a sight that isn't strange to this world, battle, conflict, destruction, and the incarnations of Ashura and Indra going head to head in a show down of epic proportions. The brother's feud has been going on for centuries but one spiky blonde haired shinobi hopes to put an end to it. He and his opponent, long time rival and best friend stand at opposite ends of the ruined valley. Both battered and bloodied, clothes in absolute ruin and both on the last leg of their stamina, the blonde just smirks and shouts, "Heh looks like you're about collapse over there Sasuke, why don't you just quit and save us some time!"

A smirk of his own spreads across Sasuke's face, "Pfft spare me dobe, I'm just warming up. You on the other hand look like you could use the breather."

"Oh yeah!" shouted Naruto as he charged Sasuke and Sasuke charged as well. They both met half way and unleashed a vicious barrage of punches and kicks. Completely forgoing any form of defense and opting to just taking the hit so long as they hit the other. Really it looks like their trying to block the other's punches with nothing but their face. Soon they both interlocked both of each other's hands and attempt to overpower the other. However try as they might they were just too evenly matched. However what they don't realize is that they have accidently broke the Infinite Tsukuyomi Genjutsu on everyone in the world by having the Yin seal on Sasuke's left hand with the Yang seal on Naruto's right hand make contact.

**"****Oi Naruto, I'm going to give you all of my remaining chakra however doing this is going to knock me out for a while so I can regain my chakra naturally."** spoke a deep and demonic voice inside Naruto's head.

_"__Right, thanks Kurama."_ Naruto replied back to the voice. The voice is none other than that of the Kyuubi no Kitsune or Nine-Tailed Fox who goes by the name of Kurama.

Naruto felt the remains of his partner's chakra enter his chakra network but he quickly felt it also leaving him. However his confusion didn't last long as from one look at Sasuke's face told Naruto that he was responsible for it. Naruto quickly head-butted the Uchiha survivor and jumped back to give him some space. "Oi, teme lets finish this already. What do ya say huh?" Naruto shouted as he began to gather chakra in his right hand while mixing in his Yang chakra that he got from the Sage of Six Paths.

"Hn, couldn't have said better myself." as Sasuke's left hand seemed to be covered in electricity but it also contained the Yin chakra that he also got from the Sage of Six Paths. The two boys just stared each other down each holding their signature technique. And then as if some silent signal was given they both charged each other with everything they had.

"NARUTO"

"SASUKE"

"CHIDORI/RASENGAN"

The two powerful attacks collided and they seemed to be evenly matched however something unexpected happened. The power behind the two attacks and the nature of the chakra infused in them tore open a dimensional hole in the air. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" shouted Naruto over the howling winds that the hole has created.

"I DON'T KNOW AND I DON'T CARE, I'M FINISHING THIS NARUTO!" Sasuke shouted to the blonde still trying to overpower his Rasengan.

"ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE, LOOK AT WHAT HAS HAPPENED WE NEED TO STOP!" Naruto shouted trying to reason with his friend.

"WE'LL STOP ONCE I HAVE DEFEATED YOU!" Sasuke retorted.

"ALRIGHT FINE THEN, IF THAT'S HOW YOU WANNA PLAY THEN SO BE IT!" Naruto yelled as he began to channel more chakra into his attack. He eventually began to overpower Sasuke.

"WHA- NO WHAT IS THIS WHERE ARE YOU GETTING THAT POWER FROM!" Sasuke shouted in a panic but Naruto didn't answer he only looked at Sasuke with yellow eyes with black bars in them and eventually broke Sasuke's Chidori and hitting him with his Rasengan sending Sasuke on a one way trip to the nearest rock face. Naruto stood proud for a second taking in the fact that he had finally defeated his long time rival but that was soon forgotten when started to be pulled towards the dimensional hole. Naruto tried with all of his remaining strength to not be pulled in but was just too exhausted to resist the pull for much longer. His strength eventually gave out and was pulled into the dimensional tear losing consciousness on his way in. As soon as he was pulled in the tear closed leaving only an unconscious Sasuke in a completely ruined Valley of the End.

(Unknown Place and Time)

In the midst of a vast and what seemed like empty void resided a large golden dragon. The dragon opened one of its many crimson eyes as it sensed a powerful presence enter his world that he oversees. **"Imperialdramon"** called this majestic yet terrifying looking beast.

It wasn't even a second when a predominantly black draconic being with warrior like features entered his master's domain. "You called Fanglongmon-sama." said Imperialdramon as he took a knee in order to show respect to the God of the Digital World.

**"****Yes my old friend, I have sensed the arrival of a powerful being entering the southern quadrant. However the nature of this power is very different from that of a Digimon. I'd like for you go there and investigate this for me."** exclaimed the highest being of the Digital World.

"Hai, I will leave at once but if I may, why not have Zhuqaiomon-sama look into this? I mean that area of the Digital world is his responsibility." asked the faithful warrior.

**"****While what you say is true and that Zhuqaiomon should be the one to investigate however I believe he wouldn't be fit for the task. He has a vile temper and is quick to destroy anything he deems anything remotely threatening to the Digital World. Since we know so little of this being it'd be best to not make this person our enemy."** the golden dragon spoke with a wisdom seen in very few.

"I see, well then I shall take my leave. I will be back soon." With that said Imperialdramon was gone in the blink of an eye and began making his way to search the southern quadrant for the source of this power his master spoke of.

(Digital World – S. Quadrant – Forest)

High above the forest a dark feathered Digimon with a purple vest searched for the meteorite that crashed not too far from his village. He eventually spotted the crash site and what a sight it was to behold. A whole throng of trees were knocked over and the crater was something to behold as well. It was about a quarter of a mile wide. The Digimon just couldn't wait to see what exactly caused this. When he got to the center of it what he found shocked him to his Digi-core. It was a human, it was a breathing human, it was a barely breathing human to be exact. The human was a wreck. The human was covered in bruises, deep cuts and blood, lots of blood. Not to mention his clothes were little better than rags now.

The Digimon decided that he couldn't leave the human here, the human need medical attention so the Digimon picked the human up by gripping the remains of his shirt with his talons hoping that the shirt will hold long enough to get them back to his village.

Luckily the shirt held up right until he reached the outskirts of his village. From there the Digimon carried the human over his shoulders into his village. "Fridgimon, Fridgimon I need your help!"

"What is it Falcomon, you sound distressed?" came the serene voice of Fridgimon from inside her hut. She was Champion level snowman with two charcoal eyes and two buttons on the center of her chest. She stepped outside only to see Falcomon carrying what looked like a half-dead human on his back. "Falcomon, what happened to him?!" Fridgimon shouted.

"I don't know, I found him like this he was at the center of a crater. In fact I'm pretty sure he is the meteorite that we all saw fall in this area." Falcomon said as he told Fridgimon everything he knew.

Fridgimon just gave him a disbelieving look. If the boy was the meteorite than in all respects he should be dead. No human should be able to survive something like that. But she quickly put those thoughts aside as she took the boy from Falcomon and brought him into her hut so she can try and patch him up. It took some time but she managed to clean him up and take care of all of his injuries. The boy had multiple deep gashes, a lot of nasty bruises, a few broken bones, and a nasty bump on the head. When she was done patching the boy up he pretty much completely covered in bandages, hell he could probably pass for a Mummymon. Now that she was done she took a seat in another room as she tried to find out all she could from Falcomon. "Alright Falcomon where did you find him, I find it very difficult to believe that he could be the meteorite that we saw."

"I don't know if he was the meteorite but I know what I saw. When I went to go check out the crash site I saw a whole area of trees completely knocked over and about a quarter-mile wide crater with him at the center of it. There was nothing suggesting something else crashed in that spot and he didn't look like someone who would just go down there to just lay there or to be able to move around in general." Falcomon told her.

Fridgimon was just confused, if the boy truly was the meteorite then how the hell did he survive the fall. It shouldn't be possible for a human to survive such a thing but yet here he was. It was at that moment that they heard someone calling for them. "Fridgimon, Falcomon, please come out, there is something I'd like to discuss with you." called a deep powerful voice that demanded respect.

When Fridgimon and Falcomon stepped out of the hut they where utterly gob smacked that the person that wanted to talk to them was none other than Imperialdramon in his Fighter Mode form. At the sight of the powerful Mega Digimon they both dropped to one knee, "Imperialdramon-sama, what an honor it is to be in your presence." said Fridgimon.

"How can we be of service to you Imperialdramon-sama?" asked Falcomon.

While used to the many Digimon that he conversed with bowing down to him still didn't change the fact that he felt unworthy of such respect. Those he believe to be the only ones deserving of that treatment were the Sovereigns and Fanglongmon himself. "That is quite alright you may stand." With that said both Fridgimon and Falcomon stood up at his request. "Now then on to business, you see I was sent here by Fanglongmon-sama himself. You see he has sensed a powerful presence enter the Digital World, however this being isn't a Digimon. Some of the other's I've questioned told me that you Falcomon brought what appeared to be a badly injured human here in order to receive medical care. Am I correct so far?"

Now Falcomon and Fridgimon were nervous. While Imperialdramon was known to be Fanglongmon's right hand Mon, very few have actually seen him and even fewer have met him. However they do know that he has a reputation of being fair they don't know if those are just rumors or not. However they weren't going to be stupid and lie to the very powerful Digimon. "Hai, Imperialdramon-sama, the human is here but he is, as you say, badly injured and is currently unconscious. But if I may ask why are you so interested in this human, he can't be the one you seek? Only very few humans can match a Rookie level Digimon, but anything Champion and above is far more powerful than any human." asked Fridgimon.

"While yes you are correct that humans are rarely a match for a Rookie level Digimon never mind the higher levels. However I have seen the crater that was recently formed here and I know that no normal human could've survived that fall. So I'm currently led to believe that this human is the one I seek." Imperialdramon answered.

"I see, however I regret to inform you that the human is in no condition to be moved and I don't know when he will wake up again." Fridgimon responded.

Imperialdramon just nodded, "That is fine, I was only tasked of locating the boy however I'm sure that Fanglongmon-sama will want to speak with him. So here take this." Imperialdramon tossed Falcomon what looked like a little remote with a red button on it. "When he awakens just push that button and I will know, what happens after is for Fanglongmon-sama to decide." With his business concluded Imperialdramon took off to inform his master of his findings.

(Fanglongmon's Domain)

It didn't take long for Imperialdramon to return to his master's domain, being able to circle planets in his Dragon Mode in minutes meant he could get to and from places very quickly. "Fanglongmon-sama I have returned with information."

**"****I see and what is it that you have learned my old friend?"** Fanglongmon asked, however the authority wasn't missed by Imperialdramon.

"Not much I'm afraid, I arrived in the forest area of the southern quadrant and found a large line of trees knocked over with a quarter-mile wide crater at the end of it. When I searched the crater there was nothing there however I noticed a small village nearby. So I decided to go there first. It was there that I heard that one of the local residents found a badly injured human and had taken him to get medical aid. I found out where the Digimon took him and both the young Falcomon who discovered the boy and the Fridgimon who treated him were still there. However the boy that the Falcomon found was still unconscious so I was unable to speak with him. Before I left I gave them a device that will inform me when the boy wakes up." Imperialdramon said concluding his report to the God of the Digital World.

**"****Very well, when the boy awakes I want you to bring him too me. I'd like to meet this human."** Fanglongmon said.

"As you command Fanglongmon-sama" Imperialdramon said with a nod of his head.

(Five Days Later)

Everything hurt, yet at the same he could barely feel a thing. Was he dead, well that was a dumb question if you felt pain then you're clearly alive. He could hear voices, he didn't recognize either of them nor could he make heads or tails of what they were saying. It sounded like they were in another room. Wait if he's in pain and he's hearing voices that he doesn't recognize does that mean he's in a hospital. Naruto quickly listened to his surroundings to his immense pleasure but also confusion was lack of beeping machines. The next thing he heard though was the sound of a door opening, probably the door to the room he was in. Finally he decided to see where he was. He slowly opened his eyes to see lack of white, much to his pleasure, and …was that an owl looking over him.

It was once again time for him to check on the human. He was expecting to just walk in make sure the human was still breathing and walk out. He wasn't expecting the human to wake up. Wait the human is waking up, "Oi Fridgimon he's waking up!" he shouted into the other room to make sure Fridgimon heard him.

Apparently though he was little too loud for Naruto's liking, "Ah not so loud owl-san." Naruto said in low coarse voice.

"I'M NOT AN OWL I'M A FALCON YOU BAKA!" shouted a pissed off Falcomon. Falcomon would've continued on for longer but he was hit upside the head by Fridgimon and chastised for yelling at someone who was recovering from their injuries.

Naruto however was now freaking out. He's used to seeing talking animals since he knows quite a lot of talking toads. And animal summons were generally intelligent enough for speech so a talking owl…my bad, falcon wasn't all that different for him. But a walking talking snowman was something else entirely. "Where am I and what are you?" Naruto asked quickly directing attention back towards himself.

It was Fridgimon who decided to answer him since Falcomon is still a little steamed at the owl comment and was muttering under his breath 'I'm not an owl'. "My name is Fridgimon, and the pouting sack of feathers that you accidently upset is Falcomon and currently you're in my home recovering after Falcomon here found you in the center of a crater."

Ok so he now knows their names and where and why he's here but he still doesn't know what they are, however it would be rude to not introduce himself. "Thank you for taking care of me, my name is Naruto Uzumaki. But I need to ask again, what are you I've never seen creatures like you before?"

"Ah, well we are known as Digimon short for Digital Monsters." Fridgimon answered for him. Only to confuse the blonde further, he's never heard of anything like these Digimon.

"Digimon, Digital Monsters, I've never heard of any of those things."

Now it was the Digimon's turn to be confused, even they knew that in the human world that Digimon was huge. Although most humans just thought they were nothing more than a card game or a TV series. Only very few humans knew the truth and that they were real. "What do you mean you've never heard of us, Digimon is huge in your world, we're probably your biggest media franchise." Falcomon said joining the conversation.

"What are you talking about, we just got finished with a war that could've ended badly for every living person on the planet if we lost. There is no time for such things, and even if there was I still never heard of anything like that." It was then that after Naruto finish saying that that he realized something strange about what Falcomon said, "Wait, my world. What do you mean my world?"

Falcomon and Fridgimon just looked at one another before turning to Naruto, "You mean you don't know, you're in the Digital World where we Digimon live and you're from the human world. Although I'm surprised you make mention of a war, we haven't heard of any war the likes of which you're describing going in the human world."

Naruto just brought his hands to his head and looked down, the reality of what is going beginning to sink in. He's not in his world anymore. He's far away from home and no one knows where he is. _This is a dream, this is a dream, this has to be a dream. I'm right now lying down in a room at the hospital with Baa-chan and Sakura-chan doing their best to fix me up._ But no matter how much Naruto tried to convince himself that this was a dream deep down in his gut he knew this was real, and his gut is never wrong.

While Naruto was trying to absorb everything he was told Falcomon and Fridgimon stepped out to give the blonde shinobi some space. "What do we do Fridgimon, I mean look at him. He looks completely hopeless." Falcomon asked the older Digimon.

Fridgimon just shook her head, "There isn't much we can do for him Falcomon, the only thing we can do for him is help adjust to all of this."

They both looked back at the blonde they could just see the aura of defeat surrounding him. It wasn't long though when they heard a familiar voice calling for them again. They rushed out to meet the owner of the voice. It was none other than Imperialdramon. "Imperialdramon-sama, we weren't expecting to see you so soon." Fridgimon said as she and Falcomon once again bowed to the Mega level Digimon.

Just like before Imperialdramon told them to rise before getting down to the reason he is here, "I understand that you have sent the signal that the boy has awoken and I have been ordered to bring the boy before Fanglongmon-sama himself." Imperialdramon said in an authoritative tone.

Fridgimon and Falcomon just looked at each other before responding, "While we understand your orders sir we think that it may not be the best idea at the moment to bring him before Fanglongmon-sama. The boy is still trying to cope with the fact that he is no longer in his world and we still aren't too sure how his recovery is coming since he hasn't had the chance to get out of bed." Falcomon said hoping that he didn't just bring the wrath of Imperialdramon upon his head for standing in the way of his mission.

Imperialdramon understood their plight but his orders are clear bring the boy before Fanglongmon-sama. "I understand your reasoning however my orders are clear, and I will carry them out. However I'm sure that the boy will be fine. After all I'm sure Fanglongmon-sama will be able to provide the boy some of the answers he seeks."

The two lower level Digimon didn't even think of that, if anyone had answers for the boy it'd be Fanglongmon-sama. They once again passed a glance at one another before nodding, "Yes that may just be what he needs, please wait right here Imperialdramon-sama and I will get him." Falcomon said before rushing back into the hut to get Naruto.

Back in the room Naruto was using he was still trying to cope with everything that he has learned so far but his coping was interrupted by Falcomon, "Oi Naruto can you stand there is someone outside that wants to speak with you."

"I'm sorry Falcomon but could you just tell the person that I need to rest and that I'll talk to them later?" Naruto said, really wanting to just be left alone for right now.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but no can do. You do not want to make this guy wait. Besides I'm sure he can help with some questions you might have." Falcomon said knowing that telling Naruto that he might get some of the questions he has answered will probably make him more inclined to go see Imperialdramon. And it worked at the sound of having his questions answered gave Falcomon Naruto's undivided attention and a ray of hope could be seen in Naruto's eyes.

Naruto quickly hopped out of bed, but stumbled a bit due to the lack of activity his body had in the past few days. Falcomon managed to catch him before he fell to the ground but still he was impressed with how much Naruto was moving around anyways. Falcomon quickly helped Naruto outside of the hut so he could meet Imperialdramon. Upon seeing the draconic warrior Naruto could immediately sense that this was a very powerful Digimon and it would be suicide to underestimate him. "Imperialdramon-sama, I'd like to introduce you to Naruto Uzumaki, the boy who fell from the sky." Fridgimon said.

"Hello young Naruto, I am Imperialdramon the right hand Mon to Fanglongmon-sama. I have been ordered to bring you before Fanglongmon-sama as soon as possible." Imperialdramon said not wasting any time what so ever.

"Hello Imperialdramon, my name is Naruto Uzumaki. I have a ton of questions that need answering. Will this Fanglongmon be able to answer them?" Naruto asked, wanting to make sure that he will get his answers.

"I'm not sure he will be able to answer all of your questions but I'm confident that he can answer a great many of them." Imperialdramon told Naruto honestly. While Naruto was a little upset that he may not get all of his questions answered it was still better than nothing. He quickly agreed to go with Imperialdramon. Imperialdramon changed into his Dragon Mode, freaking Naruto out for a moment but calmed down when he noticed that while fierce looking Imperialdramon had no intentions of attacking him. Falcomon was about to let go of Naruto when Imperialdramon spoke to him, "Falcomon, I'd like for you to come with us as well."

Shocked couldn't even begin to describe how Falcomon felt at the moment. Not just anyone got to meet Fanglongmon. It was a huge honor to be in his presence and Falcomon felt that he was undeserving of such a privilege and he made this known, "I'm sorry Imperialdramon-sama, but I'm unworthy to meet Fanglongmon-sama himself. Although I'm honored that you wanted to bring me along I want to ask why, I mean not just anyone can meet the God of our world so why bring me along?"

Naruto was surprised that he was going to meet the God of this world. While he already figured that this Fanglongmon must be very important, not to mention powerful if he could have Imperialdramon addressing him in such a way, but he never would've guessed that Fanglongmon was basically Kami. Imperialdramon for his part looked down at the young rookie Digimon, "You are correct that normally one such as yourself wouldn't be permitted to meet with Fanglongmon-sama, but this is a special case since young Naruto has no idea where he is he might feel more comfortable around a more familiar face."

With Imperialdramon's response to Falcomon's question Falcomon felt more inclined to go along with them if it meant helping Naruto get back home. So Falcomon ended up agreeing to come along, though he doubted that he had much of a choice in the matter but still went along anyways. Imperialdramon beamed them up onto his back and applied the force field that would prevent them from falling off. It only took Imperialdramon about an hour to get from the southern quadrant forest to Fanglongmon's domain. During that time Naruto was able to regain enough strength to be able to walk on his own.

When they finally entered Fanglongmon's domain they noticed that while they were clearly standing on what felt like the ground it looked like they were standing in mid air. Imperialdramon quickly changed back into his Fighter Mode. They didn't have to wait long before Fanglongmon made his appearance. With the appearance of the Holy Dragon both Falcomon and Imperialdramon dropped to one knee. Naruto however remained standing. "So I take it that you are Fanglongmon, the God of this world." Naruto said to the giant golden god.

Falcomon was quick to jump up and smack the blonde upside the head for showing such disrespect regardless if Naruto was still injured. "Baka, show some respect. This is Fanglongmon-sama, the Dragon of the Centre, and God of the Digital World. You don't want to piss him off." Falcomon quickly turned to Fanglongmon, "I apologize for his blatant disrespect Fanglongmon-sama, and humbly ask for your forgiveness in his stead."

"Oi I don't need to go around apologizing for me to stupid owl." Naruto said knowing this would ruffle Falcomon's feathers. (A/N: Yes pun totally intended) At the mention of being called an owl immediately made Falcomon forget where he was continued his argument with Naruto.

The whole time this was go on Fanglongmon had a small smile unnoticeable to all but Imperialdramon. However it was time to get down to business, **"I believe that is enough you two."** Fanglongmon said immediately drawing the attention of his two bickering guests. Falcomon was then reminded of where he was and was once again quick to apologize for not only his but Naruto's disrespect. **"It's quite alright Falcomon, it's kinda refreshing not being referred to as –sama all of the time. Now to answer your question young Naruto, yes I am Fanglongmon and I have called you here because you interest me greatly."**

Naruto could've sent Falcomon a victorious smirk but he just knew that Falcomon knew that he won that little spat. However badly he wanted to rub it in Falcomon's face he knew that there were more important things going on right now. However he wondered why he interested the so called God of the Digital World so much, "It's a pleasure to meet you Fanglongmon, my name is Naruto Uzumaki, Shinobi of Konohagakure and future Hokage." Naruto said as he pointed his thumb to his chest. The mention of being a shinobi caught all of their attention but none more so than Falcomon.

**"****A shinobi huh, very interesting we have a few Digimon here that are shinobi as well."** Fanglongmon said while sending a meaningful glance towards Falcomon.

Naruto just nodded his head and was kinda surprised that there were a few Digimon that were also shinobi. He wondered if they'd be a good challenge. But now wasn't the time for that, he had questions and lots of them and supposedly this Fanglongmon had some answers. "Fanglongmon where exactly am I, I mean I know I've been transported to another world but I need to know exactly how I got here and if it's possible for me to get home."

Fanglongmon understood what the blonde wanted. It's what any person would want in his position. However in order for Fanglongmon to answer Naruto's questions he needed some of his answered first. **"Naruto for me to be able to answer your questions requires me to have some of mine answered first. So you would please come closer so I may see your memories. Once I see your past I will have my answers and you will soon have yours."**

Naruto was a little hesitant to let someone he barely knew look through his memories but if it was to get the answers he seeks then he'd have to let the Dragon of the Centre see into his past. With a nod he stepped closer and once close enough Fanglongmon put one of his massive claws against Naruto's forehead and looked into his mind. He saw everything from Naruto's childhood, his early Genin days, the Sasuke retrieval mission, his training with Jiraiya, the Akatsuki, his time mastering Sage Mode and his later fight with Pain, even the Fourth Great Shinobi war and his final battle with Sasuke which brought him here. Fanglongmon was impressed that the young blonde managed to endure so much suffering and hardship and all for the sake of his friends. With his questions answered he was ready to answer Naruto's. **"I'm very impressed young Naruto, to have endured so much at such a young age and come out on top is nothing short of astounding, I have my answers you are free to ask your questions."**

Naruto didn't hesitate, "Well I'd first like my earlier questions answered."

Fanglongmon was saddened at the news he'd have to bring upon the blonde but Naruto needed to know this, **"I regret to inform you Naruto that what brought you here to this dimension is not something I or anyone else for that matter can recreate. A God I may be but even my power has its limits. The best I can do for you is send you to this dimension's human world for you to live out the rest of your days there."**

"Wait, this dimension. What do you mean this dimension?" Naruto asked, already having a pretty good idea of what the giant dragon meant but he wanted to be clear on the subject.

**"****It's just as I've said, you have been transported here from another dimension. You see during your final battle with your friend Sasuke both of you infused your final techniques with the unique chakra that you inherited from the Sage of Six Paths, and when your techniques clashed like they did it opened up the portal that brought you here. Since the portal was created by the clashing power of your friends Yin chakra and your Yang chakra this is something we cannot recreate since we are missing a key element. And even if we could recreate it there would be no guarantee that you'd make it home. You'd more than likely be trapped in another dimension."** Fanglongmon said crushing any hope of Naruto ever making it back home.

"I see." is all he said as he once again felt that feeling of despair taking over.

Fanglongmon didn't like seeing the boy upset. While he knows that throughout most Naruto's life put on a mask of happiness it still didn't change the fact that is who Naruto is. So Fanglongmon tried to cheer the blonde up, **"Naruto I have a proposition for you."**

While Naruto was still upset about not being able to go home he might as well hear out what the dragon has to say. "And what would that proposition be?" excuse him for being a bit rude but I think the fact that he is far away from those that he cares about and all he ever knew kinda makes it bit understandable when showing respect isn't on the top of your priority list.

**"****How would you like to build yourself a new life in this dimensions human world? While there are a few things that you will need to adjust to since this world is far more technologically advanced than your own but I believe that it'll be well worth it."** Fanglongmon said trying his best to get Naruto to see what he has rather than what he lost.

"And what would I have to do to be able to build this new life as you put it?" Naruto may have his moments of idiocy but he wasn't a complete moron, he knew that if someone offered you something then they wanted something in return.

**"****All you would have to do is become a Digimon Tamer."** Fanglongmon said surprise all those who were present.

"A Digimon Tamer, what's that?" Naruto asked making sure he didn't go into this unless fully informed on he's getting himself into.

Naruto was expecting Fanglongmon to answer but what he got was an answer from Falcomon instead. "A Digimon Tamer is a human who partners up with a Digimon and can help said Digimon Digivolve."

"Digivolve?" Naruto asked.

**"****It's a process in which a Digimon changes shape and form but also increases their power." **This time Fanglongmon answering him.

"So why would you want me to be one of these Tamers?" Naruto asked.

**"****Aside from the fact that you can probably take most Mega level Digimon on by yourself it comes down to the fact that there is a threat coming to the Digital World and I'm not sure if these Tamers can handle it. And unfortunately my power will be ineffective against this threat."** Fanglongmon said with a tiny amount of frustration slipping into his voice.

Naruto thought about it for a second, and the thought standing by while a whole world could be destroyed and he had the power to stop just didn't sit right with him. Also the opportunity to challenge some of these powerful Digimon in a fight was exciting in its own way. However he did have one question, "Who would be my partner?"

**"****Well I was kinda hoping to ask someone in the immediate area if he minded joining up with you. So what do you say Falcomon, do you want to be Naruto's partner?"** Fanglongmon asked.

Falcomon for his part was surprised. Many Digimon did their best to cross over to the human world in hopes of finding a human to partner up with to help them Digivolve and here he was being given the opportunity to partner up with the strongest human Fanglongmon has ever seen, he'd be a fucking idiot to turn that down. "Heh if it's alright with Naruto where do I sign, Fanglongmon-sama?"

Naruto didn't have a problem at with Falcomon being his partner, in all actuality Naruto owed Falcomon his life, cause if Falcomon didn't find him then Naruto might have died due to his injuries. "I'm fine with it, so then it looks like you and I will be working together from now on huh." Naruto said to his new feathered friend.

Fanglongmon for his part was glad this was going so well and that Naruto seemed to be cheering up again now that he had a purpose. **"Very well however Naruto there is something that I need to bring to your attention." **Fanglongmon immediately had Naruto's undivided attention, **"You see when I was scanning your memories I notice the severe damage that was done to your body. Some that if left unchecked will end up hurting you more in the long run. However in order for me to repair your body I must revert it back to when you were about fourteen years old."**

Naruto was shocked by this statement, "Wait do you mean you intend to make fourteen again? Why, and if it's because of the amount of damage my body has taken then Kurama will just heal it in no time."

**"****I'm afraid that's not possible at this time. I'm sure you recall towards the end of your fight with Sasuke that Kurama told that he'd be asleep for some time, well a side effect of this is that it has slowed down your healing rate considerably. While you still heal faster than most I won't be fast enough and by the time Kurama will awake it'll be too late to repair the damage. However there is another reason why I must make you younger. You see the other Tamers are currently no older than fourteen themselves. To increase your chances of meeting up with them and getting along with them I need to make you about their age. This also gives you the opportunity to experience what it's like to be a child in this world, since I know that you really didn't have that opportunity back in your world."** Fanglongmon told the blonde.

"I see," Naruto said as his bangs shadowed his eyes, when he looked up again he had on his fox like grin, "eh it's only three years, it's not like you making me a baby again and have to know what it's like to wear diapers all the time."

**"****I'm glad you're taking this so well Naruto, now there is just one last thing that needs to be addressed, and that would be your attire. Your current clothes are nothing short of rags and even if they'd been intact they wouldn't be suitable to this world." **Fanglongmon said.

"Why, is it because their orange? Why is everyone hating on orange?" Naruto asked no one in particular only to get a chuckle out of Fanglongmon.

**"****No young Naruto it has nothing to do with the color. It's just that the style in your world is vastly different from the one of this world. These newer clothes will help you fit in better. Now come closer so that we may begin your transformation."** Naruto calmed down and accepted the Dragon of the Centre's explanation. He stepped closer to Fanglongmon and once again he place one of his massive claws against his forehead and with that a wall of data began to encircle Naruto.

When the wall disappeared it revealed a shorter Naruto that was no longer wearing those rags. Naruto stood at a good height of about 5'6" and was wearing an unzipped hooded jacket that looked almost exactly like his last jacket just without the high collar and holes on the cuff of the sleeves to put his thumb through. He wore a grey T-shirt underneath and a pair tan khaki pants. He also has on a pair of Black and Orange Nike Basketball shoes. He is also wearing a belt that has another side belt hanging off his right side with what looks like a card holder and on the back of his belt is a device that is sorta shaped like a 'T'. The device was mostly white with orange ring around the screen and two orange buttons as well as an orange belt with a clip at the top.

**"****The device in your hand is called a Digivice however the Tamers have taken to calling it a D-Ark. In the human world the existence of Digimon isn't widely known and most only see it as a card game. That device can scan the cards used in the game to provide you with help in battle. So you should make it a priority to go out and buy some cards. As for what you will do for a place to live and to support yourself I've already made arrangements, I've even added your information to the government's computers and no matter how much they look at it will look authentic. I've even uploaded some basic information about the world and its history to your brain so you won't be jumping at things most people won't making it easier for you to adapt to your new environment." **Fanglongmon explained to the blonde. Naruto was just impressed that he managed to pull all of this off in such a short amount of time.

"Excuse me Fanglongmon, but I'm curious. How did you manage to actually make me younger?" Naruto asked, seriously wanting to know the answer to that question.

Fanglongmon gave the blonde a toothy grin, **"Well you see Naruto while you are in this world your body is comprised of data, I can manipulate that data however I want so long as the one I'm doing it to permits me."**

"I see, I guess that's how you also uploaded all of that information into my mind as well?" Naruto asked.

**"****That is correct, now I believe it is time for you to be going. I thank you for your assistance Naruto Uzumaki and wish you the best of luck."** Fanglongmon said as both Naruto and Falcomon deconstructed in particles of data before being sent to the real world.

XXX

**A/N: Well here is chapter one of my new story. I've really wanted to do a Naruto and Digimon Tamers crossover. **

**Now before anyone goes off on a tangent about me reducing Naruto's age instead of increasing the ages of the Tamers or why I didn't start this from Naruto and Sasuke's first fight at the Valley of the End I will explain it now. **

**As for why I chose the second battle is because to cause something like a dimensional tear is something that requires extraordinary power. Power that both Naruto and Sasuke just didn't have during their first fight. **

**As for why I decreased Naruto's age was for a couple of reasons. One at 17 there isn't much that Naruto is going to experience to get the full experience of living in this new world. Also in this series Shibumi clearly states that Digimon bond easier with children, now while I clearly don't want to make them too young otherwise the Romance in this story won't make sense I can't make them too old either so I figured 14 was a good middle ground.**

**Anyways please leave a review and let me know what you think.**


	2. Adjusting

**A Shinobi A Long Way from Home**

_Chapter II_

_Adjusting_

Disclaimer: I don't Naruto or Digimon and I never will.

XXX

(Shinjuku – Hypnos)

"Sir I'm getting some very strange readings." said a long haired woman sitting at a computer terminal being suspended high in the air.

"What kind of readings?" demanded a blonde haired man in a suit and sunglasses playing around with his lighter.

"It looks like we have another wild one trying to breakthrough but there is another signal that we can't identify that is also trying to breakthrough." replied another woman with noticeably shorter hair who was at the second terminal along with her co-worker.

"Put a tracer on it." the blonde haired man said.

"We can't something is preventing us from doing so, we can't stop the breach." the longer haired woman said.

"Damn it, Riley where is it going to appear?" the now aggravated blonde demanded.

"Shinjuku Park." was all the longer haired woman, now identified as Riley, said.

(Shinjuku Park – Night Time)

At the center of the park a fog seemed to roll in out of nowhere it wasn't long though until two figures appeared. One was none other the dimension hopping blonde shinobi Naruto and his newly minted Digimon partner Falcomon. "Damn this is some thick fog, nothing like the one Zabuza made but still." Naruto said reminiscing a bit. However he only managed to confuse his new partner.

It didn't take long for the fog to disappear and Naruto figured it was time to see where he now lived. Luckily for him he knew exactly where his new apartment was thanks to some of the information that Fanglongmon upload to his brain. "Hey Falcomon, lets hurry up and go check out the new apartment." Naruto said getting a quick nod from his new partner however Naruto needed to make one thing clear, "Yo Falcomon just one thing, I now it's kinda late so I don't expect to see a whole lot of people however just in case make sure to keep yourself hidden ok." Falcomon nodded and decided to follow Naruto from high in the air. Thanks to it being night time his dark feathers make it difficult for people to see him. Not to mention that thanks to being a falcon he has very sharp eyes and can follow Naruto even if he is several stories above his tamer.

It wasn't long when Shinjuku's two new residents found the apartment building that they'd be staying in. Naruto quickly went to meet the land lord and get the key from him. However the land lord didn't look too pleased that Naruto was bothering him at the hour he was but gave the boy the key to his apartment as quickly as he could so he can get back to watching his late night programs. The building was a modest four stories and Naruto was staying on the third floor. When he entered the apartment he quickly opened a window allowing Falcomon to fly in. Now that they were in the apartment they decided to get a good look at. It was already fully furnished much to Naruto's relief. It was a two bed and bathroom apartment with a modest kitchen and living area. "This will do just fine." Naruto said not disappointed with his new living arrangement.

Naruto's musings of his new apartment was interrupted by a loud growl that originated from Falcomon's stomach. "Sorry Naruto but do you think we can get something to eat?" Falcomon asked clutching his stomach.

Naruto was feeling a bit hungry himself so he made his way to the kitchen to see there was anything to eat. However he was disappointed when he saw an empty refrigerator and cabinets, not that he was overly surprised by the lack of food. "Sorry buddy, it looks like I need to do some grocery shopping." Naruto said as then he took notice that there was a plastic card sitting on the counter with a note. The note read:

_Naruto this card will help you pay for anything that you may need, however anything extra must come out of your own pocket. Do not lose this card, you will not be getting another. Also you've been enrolled into the local middle school and you start on Monday since today is Saturday and there is no school on the weekends._

_-Fanglongmon_

Naruto internally thanked the God of the Digital World for looking out for him and his new partner. "Hey Falcomon think you can hold out for a bit longer while I get us a few things?" Naruto asked. Falcomon nodded telling Naruto to 'please hurry'. Naruto his apartment in hopes of finding a place that was still open that he could get something to eat at. However after twenty minutes of exploring the city he realized one thing, he was lost. "Argh God damn it, Fanglongmon gives me the information of how to get to my apartment but the layout of the entire city and now I'm so freaking lost."

It was then that Naruto decided he might as well ask someone for directions. He looked around for someone to ask when he noticed a girl walking around and not really paying attention but seemingly knows where she's going. Naruto ran up to the girl and from the looks of it she was the same age as him, or what he was reverted too. "Excuse me." Naruto said getting the girls attention.

"What do you want?" the asked in an annoyed tone. The girl was wearing a mostly white T-shirt with the sleeves and shoulders being a light blue with a broken heart on the front. She was also wearing jeans with belts wrapped around her left leg and wore red sneakers with metal on the front and top of the shoes. She also had red wristbands and had her fiery red hair tied up in a spiky ponytail. She was the cover image of what one would expect out of a tom-boy.

Naruto just rubbed the back of his head, a little habit he developed to show when he's nervous, "Sorry for disturbing you but I'm new in the area and I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of where I can get something to eat?"

The girl just looked at the boy with her amethyst eyes as if she were studying him to make sure his intentions were true. She than pointed in a direction and said, "Just go that way for about two blocks before making a left, there should be convenient store just a little further down on that street that should be open."

Naruto turned to face the direction she was pointing to before looking back at her, "Thanks a lot, I'm Naruto by the way Naruto Uzumaki."

"Rika Nonaka." was all he got out of her.

"Well, thanks again Rika." Naruto said before taking off.

"Don't mention it." Rika replied before making her way back home.

Naruto followed the directions he was given and found the store that Rika was talking about and it was in fact open. Naruto went in and bought all that he could until he had the opportunity to go to a proper grocery store. However he was glad to see that the store had some Instant Ramen and practically bought every last one of them. With his shopping done he made his way home, luckily he knew how to get there thanks to his D-Ark being able to hone in on Falcomon's location. As soon as he got home Falcomon tore into the food Naruto bought while Naruto tore into his ramen. With their stomachs full they decided to call it a night and both went off to sleep.

At the same time while Naruto and Falcomon were sleeping a certain redhead was making her way towards where her D-Ark was pointing. It had long since began raining and it was coming down in buckets. She managed to grab her rain coat before she ran out of her house to confront this newly Bio-merged Digimon. When she got there she saw a lion that was made entirely of fire, "It's Lynxmon vs. Renamon." Rika said to no one in particular as a shadow appeared behind. Rika calmly stepped out of the way revealing Renamon to be a bipedal yellow fox with purple arm guards with the Yin-Yang symbol right where the back of the hand is.

As soon as Rika stepped out of the way Renamon stepped up to face the oversized flaming kitten only to be tackled to the ground with Lynxmon trying to pin Renamon down. At this point Rika pulled out here D-Ark and what looked like a card from a trading card game. "Digi-Modify…Speed Activate!" Renamon quickly felt the effects of what Rika had done and gave the Lynxmon a smirk before disappearing from underneath him. Lynxmon began to look around for his foe but didn't see Renamon appear in the air behind him and readying her attack.

"Diamond Storm" Renamon called out her attack and formed a bunch of diamond shards that eventually rained down on her foe destroying Lynxmon in the process. As soon as Lynxmon vanished Renemon didn't hesitate to download his data.

"Well done Renemon, keep that up you'll definitely Digivolve soon." Rika said with a smirk on her face.

(The Next Day)

It was 9:00 in the morning when Naruto woke up. Seeing as he needed to go out and get some groceries not to mention some cards and more clothes. Luckily for him he had the solution to get this all done and still have plenty of time to take of some other things he wanted to do today. Naruto made his favorite hand sign and said, "Kage Bushin no Jutsu". With that two clones appeared, "Alright I want one of you to go out and get some food and other things we need while the other one goes out to get some clothes for us. Also be sure to change up your appearance so no one freaks out." Naruto instructed his clones.

"Right boss" was the clones' response before they used the henge to slightly change their appearance. With that out of the way the clones went off to handle their respective tasks while Naruto decided to go look for a card shop to buy some cards. It took him a good hour of walking around the city but he finally found one. As soon as he entered the store he walked up to the counter to ask the girl behind it for some help, "Excuse me, but I need some help. You see I'm new to this game and I'd like some advice on what packs I should buy."

The girl smiled at the blonde, "I see well then I recommend that you take this starter deck and buy a couple of Rookie level packs. The starter deck comes with a rule book and should basically tell you everything you need to know about how to play the game. As for the packs they'll give you some more cards so this way you can customize the deck to your liking."

Naruto was glad for the help but he did have a question, "What did you mean by Rookie level packs?"

"Ah, you see the packs are divided by the different digivolution stages. You have Rookie level which is for beginners, Champion level for intermediate players, Ultimate for experienced players, and Mega is for truly advanced players. The higher the level of pack you get the better your chances of getting betters cards but those packs are more expensive and not to mention the effects of those cards are much harder to understand." the girl explained.

Naruto now understanding this little system began to think, he'd do well to definitely get a few Rookie packs since he knows nothing about how this game is played but if he wanted to get better he'd need to challenge other players as well as expose himself to the higher tier cards. With that thought Naruto placed his order, "I'd like two starter decks, eight Rookie packs, six Champion packs, four Ultimate packs and two Mega packs."

The girl was shocked that the boy was ordering so many cards but she rang the boy up and the price came to 9,607.66 yen. (A/N: 83 US dollars) With his shopping complete Naruto began making his way home when he got an influx of memories from both of his Shadow clones telling him that they got the food and clothes and put them away.

As soon as he got home he saw that Falcomon had woken up and was complaining of being hungry. So Naruto made it a point to create another clone to cook something up for them. While the clone was making them something to eat Naruto dumped out all of the packs he bought on floor as he began to open them. He first started with the starter decks and took out both of their instruction books and had some clones read them over. So with the clones reading the instruction books he began to open up the packs he got. And even though he didn't have the first clue as to what were good cards and what weren't he looked them over trying to see if he could understand them. However before he could even begin to try and make a proper deck the food the first clone was making was finished so he and Falcomon opted to take a break and get something into their stomachs. It was during their lunch that the clones finished reading the instruction manuals to the game and with this new knowledge Naruto now knew how to build his deck. With all of this information Naruto built two decks. One for him to use and another to have a clone use so this way he can get in some practice. However Naruto decided to have the match with himself later, what he wanted to see was what Falcomon can do. With that they headed for Shinjuku Park.

"Alright Falcomon let's see what you got, and be sure to come at me with the intent to kill otherwise you won't lay a finger on me." Naruto said as both he and Falcomon got ready for their match.

"I'll try not to disappoint Naruto. Firecracker Smokescreen!" shouted Falcomon as he dropped some explosives that created a smokescreen for him to hide in. Naruto waited to see what Falcomon would do next but nothing happened, that is until a nice gust of wind came by and blew the smokescreen away. With the smokescreen gone Naruto took notice that Falcomon used the smokescreen to stop Naruto from seeing where he took off to. Naruto began to look around for his feathered friend but couldn't find a trace of him, good that meant Falcomon knew how to hide himself. So Naruto patiently waited and listened for anything that sounded unnatural.

"Ninja Blade" shouted Falcomon as he threw dozens of shuriken at Naruto. Naruto quickly jumped out of the way and rushed towards Falcomon ready to engage him in close combat.

"Scratch Smash" Falcomon called out using the close proximity to try and score the first hit of the match. But Naruto managed to defend himself magnificently, nothing Falcomon tried got through Naruto's defense. He tried diversions, sneak attacks, feints, going head to head but nothing seemed to work. While Falcomon kept getting more and more frustrated that he couldn't score any decent hit on his tamer Naruto was analyzing every move that Falcomon made. While analyzing his opponents wasn't one of his strong points he managed to hone it enough to get him through the war.

They kept this up for hours and by the time they were done the sun was already setting. "I think that's enough Falcomon, why don't we call it a day." Naruto said much to Falcomon's relief and ire. Relief that he can finally take a break but he was annoyed that not once during the past few hours that they trained did Falcomon land a single hit on the blonde. "Come on let's go home and get something to eat." Naruto said.

At the mention of food all of Falcomon's pervious frustration vanished and his stomach growled. He didn't even notice how hungry he was but then again when you spend hours trying to hit someone and not even touch them that entire time you seem to forget certain things. "So Naruto what do you plan on making tonight?" asked Falcomon.

Naruto gave it a quick thought and turned back to Falcomon, "I was thinking of some stir-fry with rice, how does that sound to you?" Falcomon had no qualms with tonight's dinner plan. Now if his friends from his world saw Naruto planning to eat something other than ramen they'd be wondering if the person in front of them was an imposter. But during Naruto's training trip with Jiraiya, the Toad Sage managed to beat into his thick skull the importance of a proper diet. While he let Naruto splurge every now and again he made sure that Naruto knew that an all ramen diet was the reason he was so short at the time and not good for him. He also pounded some cooking lessons into the blonde so this way he didn't have an excuse to survive only on Instant Ramen.

As they were making their way home Naruto took notice that there was a beam of light shooting up into the sky, although everyone else seemed to ignore it so Naruto didn't bother. When he got home he began making his and Falcomon's dinner, while he wasn't anywhere near being a five star chef he knew how to navigate his way around the kitchen and prepare a few good meals. It only took him a little less than an hour to have dinner ready and once Naruto and Falcomon were done eating Naruto has a few clones take care of the dishes while began to familiarize himself with the Digimon card game. Naruto and his clone played each other for a few hours and by the time they were done Naruto felt that he understood the game to an extent and decided to call it a day.

(The Next Day)

"Class I'd like to introduce you all to a new student, please make him feel welcomed." said Ms. Asaji

"Hello my name is Naruto Uzumaki, it's a pleasure to meet all of you." Naruto said with a slight bow. Immediately there was talk of the new kid, most notably though were quite a few of the girls commenting on how they thought he was 'cute' and how they loved his whisker marks.

"Naruto why don't you take a seat behind Takato over there so we can get started on today's lesson." Ms. Asaji said as she waited for Naruto to take his seat.

Naruto took his seat behind a brown-haired kid in a blue hooded T-shirt with grey pants and green sneakers.

(A Few Hours Later)

"HHHAAAAAAA" Takato shouted as he took a running leap and landed in the sand (A/N: If someone can please tell me what that stuff is that they are jumping into please do because to me it looked like wet cement.) he quickly turned around, "So how did I do?" he asked the girl who was measuring the distance of the jump.

After a second she told him just over three meters and Takato was quick to celebrate. However one of his friends was quick to rain on his parade, "Relax chumley I still beat you." said Kazu.

"Yeah well it's easy enough when you cheat." Takato shot back at his friend but he then caught sight of something that made him stiffen a bit. Naruto caught this and quickly looked in the same direction as Takato and what he was a moving box with what looked like a red tail sticking out of the back. The sight just caused Naruto to raise an eyebrow.

"Alright Naruto you're up." Ms. Asaji said bringing the blonde's attention back to the class. Naruto just smirked knowing he was gonna shock all of them with what he could do, of course he has to down play his physical ability to make him not seem like he is superhuman. So Naruto stepped up to the starting point and as soon as Ms. Asaji blew the whistle he began running towards the sand pit. Everyone was amazed at how fast he was running but his jump is what caused them to have their jaws it the floor. When he jumped and touched down in the sand pit the girl from before measured the distance. When she announced it to everyone they were shocked to hear that he jumped just shy of four meters.

"Four meters, how did you manage to jump four meters. I only managed to jump about ten feet but you jumped about 12 feet. How'd you do it?" Kazu asked stunned that someone was more athletic than him in the class.

Naruto just gave the visor wearing teen a smirk, "I keep myself in good shape. I do lots of push-ups, sit-ups and drink juice, plenty of juice."

The class would've asked Naruto more questions if the school fire alarm hadn't gone off. Ms. Asaji decided to go check on what's going on and told everyone else to wait there. However Takato had a worried look on his face and decided to run off to see what was going on. "Takato, where are you going?" called out the girl with the measuring tape.

Naruto decided that he also wanted to see what was going on and if his hunch is correct, "Hey guys wait here I'll go get him." Naruto said as he took off after Takato. He followed Takato through the school until they came across a huge gathering of faculty and students listening to principle rave on about how he saw red dinosaur. A lot of the students seemed to making a lot of jokes about the principal's wild accusations. However Takato knew that the principal was telling the truth, he quickly turned around from the scene and ran off muttering the name 'Guilmon' under his breath. However Naruto wasn't the only one to catch that. Another boy heard it too and decided to follow after Takato. Naruto however was more interested in the scene playing out here than chasing after Takato since he already got his answers. It wasn't much longer when they just decided to cancel school for the rest of the day much to the student's pleasure.

Since Naruto now had the entire afternoon off he went home and picked up Falcomon figuring the two of them might as well get some more training in at the park. However his plans were quickly put on hold as he saw Takato and who he assumed to be Guilmon walking around the park. He was about to approach the two when all of a sudden Guilmon was kicked into a fence by what looked like a yellow fox. _Damn, that looked like it hurt._ Naruto thought to himself. It was then that another presence made them self known and boy was Naruto surprised. _It's that girl from the other night, she's a Tamer as well._

"What was that all about?" Takato asked the newly arrived Rika.

"That was your Digimon eating dirt." Rika answered the goggle wearing tamer.

It was at that moment that Takato recognized her, "I saw you in my dream." he said out loud but quickly denied that being a possibility.

"So you're a lousy tamer and your weird now beat it unless you feel up to fighting us little boy." Rika told Takato.

Naruto being the secret spectator to all of this was wishing he brought some popcorn. Falcomon's attention however was on the red dinosaur that was currently the topic of discussion between the two tamers. Naruto seemed to notice this, "What's up Falcomon something bothering you?"

"It's the red guy, I have no idea who he is. Most Digimon know of each other's existence but I've never heard or seen anyone like him before." Falcomon said. Now Naruto was really interested. So he decided to pull out his D-Ark to see what it had to say on the mysterious red raptor. However all his D-Ark was telling him is that there is no data on him.

"Hm that's strange the D-Ark isn't showing any data on him at all. Do you have any idea what that means Falcomon?" Naruto asked.

"No not a clue." the dark feathered Digimon responded. At that point Naruto just decided to keep watching this little scuffle play out.

Currently the two Digimon where rolling around in the dirt. And it was Rika that made a comment on this, "That's just plain sloppy Renamon." At the same time she pulled out her own D-Ark and a card.

"What is she doing now?" Takato verbally saying the same thing Naruto was thinking.

"Digi-Modify…Armor Activate"

It was then that some metal device appeared on Renemon's hand and was about to blow Guilmon's head off.

"Guilmon run away I'm begging ya!" Takato shouted hoping to get his partner's attention, though it seemed that Guilmon hadn't heard a thing and continued to bite down on Renamon's arm. "Come on boy, get out of there. Now would be a really good time for you to start listening to me."

This time Guilmon heard his tamer's plea came to his senses. "Takatomon?" Guilmon looked back towards his tamer realizing that he wasn't listening dropped Renamon as soon as she activated the device sending her flying in the opposite direction. How she missed that shot Naruto will never know. "I'm not listening sorry sorry time to play." Guilmon said as he ran back to his tamers side.

Upon seeing that they've dropped their guard Rika saw this as the perfect opportunity, "Now's your chance Renamon attack now." However the interaction between Takato and Guilmon caused Renamon to hesitate something Rika wouldn't tolerate, "Hello Earth to Renamon attack now."

Renamon jumped into the and dove towards her target intent on continuing the fight however she was interrupted as a cloud of smoke appeared between her and Guilmon and his goggle wearing tamer. As soon as the smoke cleared it revealed Naruto and Falcomon and he greeted them with a casual, "Yo".

XXX

**A/N: Here's chapter two, a bit shorter than chapter one but if I tried adding any more than it would just be me trying to cram to much into one chapter. Anyways I hope you enjoy and I'm glad that this story is being received so well. Please don't forget to post a comment.**


	3. Reasons for Fighting

**A Shinobi A Long Way from Home**

_Chapter III_

_Reasons For Fighting_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Digimon, wish I did.

XXX

Naruto had decided that he was done watching and that it was time for him to make his presence known the only way he knew how, a flashy entrance. So with the help of Falcomon's Firecracker Smokescreen they were able to do just that. When the smoke cleared both Takato and Rika were surprised at the identity of the newcomer. "Hey wait your that new kid in my class, Naruto right?" Takato asked.

"Yup and your Takato and I take it that your friend over there is the one I have to thank for getting us out of school so early." Naruto said causing Takato to blush in embarrassment at his lack of keeping track of Guilmon earlier. Naruto then turned to the other person that he knew of, "Rika-chan what a small world this must be to find out that you're a Tamer too." Naruto said with a fox like grin.

"DON'T CALL ME –CHAN YOU WHISKER FACED IDIOT!" Rika yelled at Naruto with her face turning red, though whether from anger or embarrassment wasn't clear.

Naruto was about to further tease the redhead but he was interrupted by Takato, "Uh Naruto, what are you doing here?"

Naruto turned and gave the Virus type tamer one of his patented fox like grins before saying, "Well you see I got bored of watching Rika-chan kicking your sorry asses and thought that she might appreciate an opponent that is actually willing to fight back."

Once again both of the other tamers were shocked but Rika quickly regained her composure, "So you think that you and your little owl friend can actually stand a chance against me and Renamon."

"Grrrr, I'm not an owl I'm a falcon!" shouted Falcomon, really getting annoyed that everyone keeps calling him an owl.

"Whatever bird-brain, I wasn't talking to you anyways. I was talking to the blonde baka standing behind you." Rika said coldly shooting down Falcomon.

Naruto managed to get Falcomon to calm down before he started chucking shuriken at the redhead. Once Naruto was sure that Falcomon was cool he sent Rika a challenging look, "While I don't like the way you were speaking to my feathered friend over here Rika-chan my offer still remains open, how would you like to fight an opponent that can actually fight?"

"I told you to stop calling me that! Oh you know what screw it walk all over them Renamon!" shouted the now red faced tamer.

"It would be my pleasure." said Renamon as she leapt into the air and crossed her arms. "Diamond Storm"

Naruto however just smirked at how quickly Renamon was going in for the kill, "Falcomon you know what to do."

"Right" Falcomon said as he now called out his attack, "Ninja Blade". Everyone was expecting Falcomon to immediately target Renamon however they were shocked when they saw she wasn't Falcomon's target. What Falcomon was aiming for was knocking the Diamond Shards out of the sky and Renamon's control and it was an overwhelming success.

"Wha- that's impossible. No one has ever prevented her from launching that attack." Rika said not comprehending what she just saw.

Naruto heard what she said and decided to throw his own two cents in, "Just because no one has done it before Rika-chan doesn't mean it isn't possible. While Renamon's Diamond Storm is deadly it takes a while before she is able to launch the attack, meaning it's too slow." Naruto was just grinning like an idiot at seeing the look of raw rage coming from the redheaded tamer.

"It was a lucky move, but Renamon won't be defeated so easily." Rika said glaring at the blonde tamer standing not too far away from her trying to intimidate her foe.

However her glare didn't even phase Naruto and he just kept on smiling, "Oh I know it will take more than that to defeat her." Naruto said further enraging his fellow tamer.

"DON'T YOU DARE LOOK DOWN ON ME! I'M THE BEST TAMER THERE IS AND NOTHING IS GOING TO STOP ME AND RENAMON FROM WIPING THE FLOOR WITH YOU AND YOUR BIRD-BRAINED PET!" Rika shouted completely giving into her anger and losing focus on the task at hand.

"It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself of that instead of me Rika-chan." Naruto said as he once again further pissed off the redheaded tamer whose face was now as red as her hair with fury evident on her face.

Takato for his part was amazed that Naruto was getting under this girl's skin so much. He just seemed to know which buttons to press to get her angry. However he quickly turned his attention to the fight. Renamon for her part was just as frustrated as her tamer that her attack was neutralized like that. However unlike her tamer she managed to keep a level head about the whole situation. She then decided that if long range attacks won't work then she needs to beat the stuffing out of this bird with her fists. "Power Paw" Renamon shouted as she made a bee line for Falcomon.

Falcomon however was expecting this and was prepared for his counter, "Firecracker Smokescreen!" he shouted dropping his bamboo explosives once again creating a cloud of smoke that engulfed both him and Renamon making it very difficult for the fox Digimon to see.

"Ah what's the matter big boy, to afraid to face me head on?" Renamon taunted hoping to draw out her opponent.

Falcomon however wasn't going to fall for such an obvious ploy, "This is how I fight Renamon. I am a ninja and we prefer to strike from the shadows when our opponent's guard is at their lowest." Falcomon said projecting his voice throughout the entire smokescreen making it virtually impossible for Renamon to tell which direction he is in.

This did little to unnerve Renamon but she kept herself on high alert and made sure to listen to her surroundings very closely for anything that could tell her where her opponent is. "Strike Slash!" shouted Falcomon as came at her from behind. She quickly spun around and used her Power Paw to block the attack as best she could. Once she successfully blocked the attack she began attacking herself not letting the dark feathered Digimon get away from her. Falcomon though made no attempt of retreating and fought Renamon blow for blow impressing the yellow kitsune with his close quarter's combat ability.

It was at this point that Rika decided it was time to up the ante as she pulled out a card from her card holster on the back of her belt, "This is just unacceptable Renamon. Digi-Modi" was as far as she got when another voice called out to them to stop fighting.

All three tamers and their respective partners looked up the hill where the voice came from. There stood the boy that Naruto saw earlier that followed Takato out of the school when he went looking for Guilmon. He had blue hair and a tan complexion, he was wearing a black T-shirt and orange vest over it. He was also wearing black pants and grey shoes with some yellow in them. "It's you." Takato said as if he was relieved that he was here maybe he can diffuse this whole situation.

"It's him, it's me and aren't you happy to see us?" said what looked like the cross between a dog and a rabbit with very long ears. Naruto decided to pull out his D-Ark and saw it was called Terriermon.

"A Digimon?" Rika asked to no one in particular her confusion apparent. "Ok this is just getting a little too weird their popping up everywhere."

"What's going on, why are your two Digimon fighting?" Henry asked as he drew the attention back to himself.

"What do you mean 'why', that's what Digimon do." Rika said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"They're not fighting machines, and they're not our slaves or pets either, they're our friends they just wanna do the same things we do." Henry said as Terriermon hopped into his arms wrapping one of his large ears around Henry's shoulders. "What about you, why did you have your Digimon fight?" Henry asked Naruto.

Naruto just gave them all his fox like grin, "Why for training of course." Naruto said.

To the rest of them that answer came completely out of left field, "Training?" repeated a confused Takato, "Training for what?"

Naruto gave the virus tamer a mischievous look before replying, "I don't know." That wasn't the answer any of them were expecting either and they all fell down at the sheer stupidity of the answer. "However, I do know that there are Digimon appearing here in Shinjuku, some maybe friendly but others won't be and they won't hesitate to attack an innocent person and I want to be strong enough to prevent that from happening." Naruto said with unyielding determination burning in his sapphire eyes.

After hearing that Rika scoffed at that, "Pfft fine if you wanna go off and play Mr. Hero then be my guest. However make sure you all stay out of my way." Rika said as she managed to get back on her feet. Once standing again she turned and began to take her leave but paused and looked over her shoulder and glared at the blonde tamer, "And don't think this is over, you and I have a score to settle Whiskers."

"Yeah yeah I love you too Rika-chan. Thanks for the spar by the way." Naruto said with a smile as he waved good-bye to the fiery haired tamer. Rika blushed at the 'I love you' part and quickly turned her head so the others wouldn't see it and began making her way home. Now that Rika and Renamon were gone Naruto figured now would be a good time to get introductions out of the way. "So what's your name and before you say that it's rude to ask for someone else's name without giving your own my name is Naruto Uzumaki and this is my partner Falcomon."

The blue-haired boy smiled before responding, "A pleasure to meet you Naruto, my name is Henry Wong and this is my partner Terriermon."

At this point Takato decided he should introduce himself to Henry as well, "Hi Henry my name is Takato Matsuki and this is my partner Guilmon."

"So anyways aside from fighting, what were you guys doing out here?" Henry asked figuring that would be a good place to open up a conversation.

"Well I don't know about Takato but Falcomon and I were gonna go look for a spot for us to train so we can be prepared for any Digimon that happens to crossover to this side." Naruto said as he looked towards Takato wondering what he was doing here.

"I see, and what about you Takato?" Henry asked.

"Oh me well I was looking for a place for Guilmon to hideout in since I can't keep him at my house. My parents would freak if they saw him." Takato told his fellow tamers.

"Well if it's a place to hide Guilmon you're looking for I think I might know a spot." Henry said as he began walking beckoning for the other two tamers and their Digimon to follow. Both Naruto and Takato decided to follow the half-Japanese boy. They didn't have to walk very far and when they arrived they saw a stone shed with a metal gate in the front.

"It's perfect!" exclaimed an excited Takato, "Thanks for the help Henry."

"No problem Takato. What about you Naruto are you gonna keep Falcomon here as well. I mean he's a little too big for you to convince your parents that he's a stuffed animal." Henry asked genuinely curious how the blonde keeps his partner a secret from his parents.

At the mention of his parents Naruto's mood soured and he took on a melancholic look. The other two humans noticed this and the tension in the air thickened, "I don't have any parents. They died the day I was born protecting me. I currently live on my own with my guardian sending me money to support myself from afar."

"Oh, I'm sorry about bringing that up. It must have been tough." Henry said, genuinely sorry for bringing up what was obviously a sensitive topic to the blonde.

Naruto however didn't hesitate to put on a smile though it was slightly forced but only he knew that, "Don't worry about it, you didn't know and I'm used to fending for myself so you have nothing to be sorry about."

That made Henry feel a little bit better but he still felt guilty for bringing it up. Takato sensed the tense atmosphere and decided that they needed a change of subject. "Hey Naruto you seemed to know that girl, who is she?"

Naruto was glad that now the subject of his parents is no longer the focus of the conversation. "I wouldn't say that I know her Takato but I have met her before. As you know I just recently moved here and one night I went out to get some food but ended up getting lost. So when I decided to look around for someone to give me directions the person I ended up asking was that girl. She pointed me in the right direction and then we split up. I honestly wasn't expecting to see her again."

"I see, but man what was with that girl? How can she believe that Digimon are only here to fight?" Takato asked not really expecting an answer as he watch the three Digimon play.

"Some people are just like that I guess." Henry said not necessarily understanding what's going through the girl's head.

Naruto had an idea of why the girl was the way she was one look in her eyes told Naruto many things. However he decided not to voice this since it would just make Takato and Henry curious as to how he knew. His musings were interrupted by Takato's next statement, "I guess, but man when I found out that Guilmon was the one that raided the cafeteria, I knew I had to find a place with a lock."

"Hey he might have just saved our lives. It's only a matter of time before they poison us." Henry joked with the goggle wearing tamer.

"I've been meaning to ask about that." Naruto said once again entering the conversation, "I walked past the cafeteria earlier and the smell of the food made me wanna throw up. Is it really as bad as it smells?" Naruto asked desperately needing this question answered.

Henry and Takato just exchanged a look before saying simultaneously, "No, its worse."

"Good to know then." Naruto said, "Well after all of today's excitement I think it's about time for us to get home. I'm sure Falcomon is getting hungry anyways."

At the suggestion of food the three Digimon stopped playing and gave their tamers their undivided attention. "Hey I'm hungry." Terriermon said perched on top of Guilmon's head.

"But you just ate." Henry said surprised that Terriermon is hungry so soon.

"So what's your point, momentai." Terriermon told his tamer as he somersaulted off of Guilmon's head and onto the floor before running up to his tamer.

Henry just gave a light chuckle, "Alright dinner time." With that said Henry began making his way home with Terriermon hanging from his shoulders.

"Yeah I'll see you guys later." Naruto said as he and Falcomon made their way for home.

Takato just stood at the top of the stairs with Guilmon as they waved off their new friends, "Takatomon I'm hungry too." said the now hungry red raptor.

"Great, see what you just started Naruto." Takato shouted to the blonde only to get a grin from the secret shinobi. "By the way what does momentai mean?" Takato asked the other duo.

Terriermon just turned from where he perched, "Haven't you figured that out yet, it means take it easy!"

Meanwhile Rika was walking along the sidewalk going over everything that happened today. Her mind especially kept replaying the fight Renamon had with that whiskered faced bastard's bird-brain of a Digimon. It was only a Rookie level Digimon and Renamon has taken down Champions before so why did she have such a hard time with him. She was stopped at a cross-walk waiting so she can cross the streets. However timed seemed to come to a halt around then as she called out to Renamon.

"Yes Rika." Renamon said, already having a pretty good idea what this was going to be about.

"How could you embarrass me like that Renamon, you should've been able to take down that sack of feathers with ease." Rika demanded immediately pinning the blame for the results of today's fight entirely on Renamon. While the fight was interrupted before a winner could be decided so she didn't lose the fight but the fact that she also didn't win either angered her no end.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you Rika but that Falcomon was strong and a worthy opponent." Renamon said hoping to try and alleviate some Rika's frustration.

"Renamon I'm the best tamer there ever was and I won't accept anything less than perfection." Rika said almost as if trying to reassure herself of this.

"So you are, I never said you weren't." Renamon said not really getting where Rika was going with this.

"Then if I'm the best then how is it there someone else out there who can match me and why haven't you Digivolved?" Rika asked.

"I don't know why I haven't Digivolved Rika but for that boy so far matching don't you think that's a good thing?" Renamon asked.

"What are you saying?" Rika demanded as she narrowed her eyes giving Renamon a look saying that she'd better pick her next words carefully.

Renamon to her credit was unfazed by the look Rika sent her, "What I'm saying Rika is that boy and his partner could be a rival of sorts, someone to help push us harder so we don't fall behind and eventually work to become better than them."

Rika gave the idea some thought and had to admit that what Renamon said made a lot of sense. While she was already driven to be the best having some competition for it would motivate them to work harder. "You make a good point Renamon, perhaps Whiskers isn't totally worthless, and you're right he would make a good rival."

With the conclusion of their conversation time seemed to flow again like it was supposed to and Rika began crossing the street. _Renamon will be the best, like me. And next time we won't hold back against them._

(A Few Days Later)

School had just let out and Naruto was on his way home when he saw a whole bunch of black vans with satellite dishes on the top of them all parked right next to the park. _I've only been a part of this world for a little more than a week and even I know that if those vans don't scream big secret undercover government agency then I don't know I what will._ Naruto decided to see what all of the fuss was about. He managed to sneak into the park without the guards noticing, and he quickly found the guy in charge. It wasn't that hard, considering everyone seemed wary to look him in the eye and his posture screamed 'I'm the boss'. Naruto decided that he might as well and see what was going on around here. "Oi Secret Agent-san!" shouted Naruto as he ran up to his fellow blonde.

Yamaki turned the sound of the voice and noticed boy no older than fourteen running up to him. "What are you doing here kid this is a restricted area?" he asked.

"Oh it is, well then you might want reconsider who you put on the payroll for your hired muscle, those guys out there aren't too bright seeing as a five year old could sneak past them. Besides I like cutting through the park when I leave school. There's just something about nature that fascinates me." Naruto went on, trying to be as unassuming as possible. "So anyways Secret Agent-san what's up with the guys in the hazmat suits there isn't some kind of deadly virus going around or some kind of radiation leakage is there?" Naruto asked keeping up the pretense of a boy with a wild imagination.

Yamaki just narrowed his eyes behind his sunglasses, "What the scientists are up to is none of your concern, and what makes you think we're secret agents?"

Naruto just gave the older blonde a deadpan stare, "Really, you're really asking that question. Black vans with satellites on them, the big dumb guards in suits trying to look intimidating, the lack of police. Do you not watch movies? You guys fall right into the stereotype to the letter. If you're trying to be covert about this then at least try to blend in with the crowd and use the freaking police. They are much less assuming since most would just think their investigating that banged up fence over there."

Yamaki at this point had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. The boy was right about everything, it was pretty obvious that they worked with the government. However Yamaki quickly pulled himself together. "Look kid I don't have time to deal with you right now so just go home and leave the adults to their work."

Naruto was internally smiling at how things were playing out, so far Yamaki was buying into his act. Now it was time to get the information he was looking for, "Sure thing Secret Agent-san but I'm just curious about something. I saw you pick up that card your holding and you were staring at it for a while. But what I don't understand is why I mean unless this has something to do with Digimon and if that was the case than that'd be awesome. Can you imagine just how awesome it'd be if Digimon were real?" Naruto said more enthusiastically as he kept talking to make it look like he was a boy that was a huge Digimon fan and was excited at the possibility of Digimon being real.

Yamaki didn't say anything but Naruto still got what he was looking for. It was brief but at the mention of Digimon Yamaki flinched and Naruto saw it letting Naruto know that this man knows about the existence of Digimon and the organization he's working for does too. What that organization does with this knowledge, Naruto could only hamper a guess. But Naruto got what he was looking for so he decided now was the time to bow out before Yamaki started getting suspicious of him. So once Yamaki told him to go home again Naruto left without an argument.

(A Little While Later)

Naruto had already gone home and have set up some clones to do his homework. It made him wonder though why all the old-man and Tsunade baa-chan always complained about paperwork and not have shadow clones do it for them. Anyways Naruto had decided to once again roam the city to try and familiarize himself with it. While he could've also had shadow clones do this for him he wanted to get the experience himself. He was walking through one of the main business districts when he noticed Takato walking around with Guilmon out in the open. Naruto had to resist the very strong urge to face palming. Takato soon crossed paths with a little boy with his mother and the boy was amazed at seeing a real life Digimon. Although Takato told him that Guilmon wasn't a Digimon but a guy wearing suit. The boy and his mother instantly bought it and then left with the boy waving good-bye to 'the guy in the suit'. "You know I'm surprised that worked. Where I come from no one would've believed you." Naruto said gaining the attention of Takato and Guilmon.

"Naruto, I didn't even see you there. What's up?" Takato asked pleased to see his new friend.

Naruto just shrugged, "Eh not much still just trying to familiarize myself with the city, this place is fucking huge."

"Yeah it takes some time before you know where everything is." Takato said, he was about to continue his conversation with Naruto when both of their D-Arks went off and only had a red screen. Both of the tamers were confused at what it meant but they noticed that Guilmon's eyes dilated and began growling. Takato asked Guilmon what's wrong but instead of getting an answer Guilmon just took off running. "Ah hey Guilmon where are you going, ah nuts." was all Takato said before he took off after his partner. Naruto ran after them as well knowing that Falcomon wasn't far behind. They chased Guilmon until they were at an underground parking complex.

Naruto quickly noticed that Renamon was present if Renamon was here that meant that Rika had to be as well. "Oi Rika-chan, come on out already. I know you're here." Naruto shouted and just like that Rika appeared from behind one of the support columns to the parking lot already looking at the blonde's presence.

"What are you doing here Whiskers?" Rika asked leveling another one of her glares towards the blue-eyed tamer.

Naruto just smiled at her, "Oh you know just hanging out with Takato here when all of a sudden Guilmon just ups and leaves. So I decided to follow since I was curious as to why."

"Whatever." Rika said ending her conversation with the blonde and turned her attention towards Takato, "So goggle head are you ready to fight this time, is your little dinosaur out of diapers yet?" Rika taunted.

"This is so stupid, why do you want to fight me and Guilmon? I figured you'd rather take on Naruto and Falcomon." Takato asked.

"Oh believe me he's next." Rika said as she glared at Naruto once again only to receive his infuriating smile in return, "However our fight hasn't been settled since this baka interrupted it the other day."

"Oh you wound me Rika-chan, why must you always say such mean things to your best friend." Naruto said being overly dramatic about the whole thing.

"Stop calling me that, and we aren't friends you baka!" Rika shouted at Naruto. She glared heatedly at him before forcing herself to calm down. Once calm she looked at Takato, "So we gonna fight or what."

Takato was about to tell her no when Naruto opened his mouth again, "Sure Takato and Guilmon will fight you." receiving a surprised look from Rika and a horrified look from Takato.

"Wha- Naruto why, what are you talking about, us fight them they'd cream us." Takato asked his new friend confused as to why Naruto is putting him in this situation.

Rika just smirked at Takato's admission of being weaker than her and Renamon. However Naruto would have none of it, "It was bound to happen sooner or later Takato and it'd be best if you and Guilmon learned to defend yourselves. Besides Rika-chan and Renamon aren't unbeatable you just have to be smart about what you're doing. Besides Guilmon has a serious advantage over Renamon." Naruto told Takato making sure Rika couldn't hear him.

At the sound of Guilmon having an advantage over Renamon and it being entirely possible to beat her Takato was hanging onto every word that Naruto was saying however he was a bit skeptic. "What do you mean Guilmon has an advantage over Renamon, she has way more experience. Guilmon has never been in a fight outside the one that happened the other day."

"True, Renamon has more experience and is a far more skilled fighter however she lacks the raw power to do any serious damage to Guilmon. I don't know if you noticed but basically created a living breathing tank. In case you forgot Renamon launched her finisher move at Guilmon the other day and the attack just bounced right off of him. So as long as you do whatever you can to keep Guilmon's defensive strength up then it will just come down to a battle of attrition and that would make Guilmon the winner." Naruto told Takato, and with all of this information Takato actually started believing that maybe they could win.

"Alright fine, if you want to fight Rika we'll give you a fight." Takato said with unwavering determination.

Rika for her part was surprised at the change in demeanor for Takato, before he was a scared little boy but then once he got done talking to Naruto he looked ready to fight. She then just turned her attention to the blonde, "What did you say to him?" Rika demanded.

"Oh nothing much Rika-chan, just gave him some advice. You don't mind do you? I mean after all this is their first real fight without getting ambushed into it." Naruto said with his fox like grin stretched across his face.

Rika just scoffed, "Whatever it's not like it's gonna save them."

With that all the players took up their positions, Naruto decided that for it to be fair he would be the one to declare when the fight can start. "Is both sides ready?" Naruto asked getting a nod from both tamers and Digimon. "Then FIGHT!"

Guilmon decided to launch the first attack, "Pyro Sphere!" The fire ball was launched from Guilmon and his aim was true. However Renamon quickly dodged the attack before retaliating with her own attack, "Diamond Storm!" Hundreds of diamond shards rained down on Guilmon but just like in the park they bounced right off him causing minimal damage at best. After the failed attack Renamon dropped to the ground and charged at Guilmon and hit him square across the face with her Power Paw attack. Guilmon was sent flying into one of the nearby cars.

"Ah Guilmon are you ok?!" Takato asked while internally thinking that this may not be the best place to have the Digimon fight. What with all of the damage they could cause to the surrounding area. Naruto was actually thinking the same thing as well but it was too late now. Guilmon quickly picked himself up from the wrecked car almost completely unfazed by that last hit and made a bee line for Renamon, "Rock Breaker!" Renamon jumped out of the of the attack and watched as Guilmon put a nice dent in the concrete floor. Guilmon turned and launched another Pyro Sphere in her direction and while it was a direct hit she was still nicked by the attack.

Rika had to admit that this was one tough Digimon even if it was young. It was clear to her that while Renamon was clearly the superior fighter, she just didn't have the power to do any significant damage, luckily for her she just the card to change that, "Digi-Modify…Power Activate!" With the rush of power that Renamon felt she quickly jumped into the air and prepared her attack, "Diamond Storm!"

Rika had a victorious smirk on her face thinking that this was over now however something she didn't expect happened, "Digi-Modify…Rock Armor Activate!" Soon enough rocks began to conform to Guilmon's form and just in time to as they took the brunt of Renamon's deadly attack.

"What?!" Rika shouted in confusion though the frustration wasn't missed by anyone.

Takato for his part was feeling quite proud of himself. Naruto was right, they can beat Rika. They were about to continue the fight however they were interrupted, "What is going on in here?" shouted Henry.

Everyone present turned to look at him all feeling a strange sense of déjà vu. "Oh, hey Henry." Takato said nervously to his new friend not sure how to handle this situation.

"Again I find you guys fighting, why, why do you guys keep forcing your Digimon to fight?" Henry asked, not understanding why they insisted on fighting.

"This again, I told you already that's what Digimon do they fight and when they win they get stronger and when they get stronger they Digivolve. I have question though, why are you so sentimental about all of this, they're just data." Rika asked making her thoughts on the subject of Digimon clear.

The other three tamers looked at the amethyst-eyed girl. "Digimon are not just data they're living beings, how could you say such a thing?" Takato asked.

"Simple goggle-head, Digimon are just data. Nothing more and nothing less and the sooner you get that through your head the better. After all I'm sure Whiskers gets it that's why he was strong enough to match me the other day." Rika said forcing everyone to look at Naruto to get what thinks about Digimon.

Naruto just shook his head, "Your wrong about me Rika-chan, while it's true that Digimon are made up of data like we are made of flesh and blood, Digimon also have hearts and emotions and that is what makes them alive. Also the reason I'm strong isn't because I see Digimon as an expendable commodity but, no matter how cliché this is, it's because I have those that I care about and want to protect. I've seen it too many times in my life too know that true strength comes from wanting to protecting those you care about and the more people you have the stronger you become." As he was saying that a certain effeminate looking boy came to his mind, those words that the boy said to him all of those years ago stuck true to him like glue.

Everyone there, including the Ice Queen Rika, were amazed at how sincere and passionately Naruto spoke those words. "So Rika-chan if you don't mind I'd like to ask, why are you so obsessed with making Renamon Digivolve?" Naruto asked turning everyone's attention back to the fiery haired tamer.

"It's simple, I want to be the best and no one is going to stand in my way. Now if you don't mind you and I have a fight to finish goggle-head." Rika said restarting the match.

Renamon prepared to use her Diamond Storm attack while Guilmon charged at her, what nobody noticed though was Terriermon running out right into Renamon's line of fire and cutting off Guilmon, "No get back." Renamon tried telling the digital bunny but it was too late. Her attack rained down on Terriermon however something unexpected happened.

"NO TERRIERMON!" Henry shouted as he tried running towards his friend when he noticed his D-Ark was going haywire.

DIGIVOLUTION

"Terriermon Digivolve to…Gargomon!"

When the smoke cleared there stood Terriermon in his Champion form, "Gargomon huh, what a difference. His attacks are Gargo Laser and Bunny Pummel whatever that means." Rika said as she read the information her D-Ark provided her. Everyone gazed upon on the giant rabbit but soon everyone but Rika decided to take cover as he began opening fire on everything in sight.

"This is exactly what I was afraid of, he's just not ready for that kind of firepower yet!" Henry shouted to no one in particular.

"Ninja Blade!" called Falcomon as he decided that he needed to get involved in this otherwise someone could get hurt. Falcomon unleashed a hail of shuriken at Gargomon only for Gargomon to shoot them down and continue on as if the shuriken weren't even there. Renamon soon jumped on his back to try and pin him down but the Champion would not yield. He managed to throw her off of him and kept Falcomon from getting any closer. Guilmon tried to tackle him but Gargomon just sidestepped the charge causing Guilmon to crash head first into a wall.

It didn't take long before Gargomon had blasted everything in sight, well everything except for one Rika Nonaka. Everyone could see the fear in the girl's eyes as she realized that she was the next target for the out of control trigger happy bunny. And for every step Gargomon took Rika took a step back. It wasn't long before she was backed up against a wall. Gargomon raised his arm preparing to shoot, _No, is this how I'm gonna die, killed by an insane trigger happy bunny._ Rika closed her eyes waiting for the bullet that bring about the end of her life. However she heard the sound of a gunshot but didn't feel any pain. She dared to open her eyes and what she saw will forever be burned into her memory. It was Naruto kicking the arm that was aimed at her way so that Gargomon missed her. He then quickly turned and picked her up bridal style and ran away from the currently deranged rabbit. With Rika out of harm's way the other three Digimon rained unholy hell down on the poor rabbit. By the time they were done Gargomon was finally in control of his actions but was in a lot of pain.

It took a while for Rika to eventually calm down from her near death experience but for some reason she couldn't explain this sickeningly warm sensation she was feeling by being in Naruto's arms like this. However she soon regained her composure, "Hey put me down you pervert!" she yelled with her face red from embarrassment.

Naruto looked down to the girl in his arms, "Is that any way to talk to the guy who just saved your life?" Naruto asked as he put her back on her own feet.

"Yeah well, thanks I guess. Anyways I'm out of here." Rika said.

As soon as she left Naruto was approached by Henry and Takato, "Naruto way to go with saving that girl that was extremely reckless of you." Henry said.

Naruto just smiled to his blue-haired friend, "Yeah well I tend to do that quite a bit. Anyways I think we need to get out of here, the cops are bound to come after all the damage Gargomon caused." And just like that they heard the distinct sound of police sirens and decided now was a good time to bail before they get caught.

XXX

**A/N: Well that's chapter three for ya, I hope you all enjoy it.**

**I want thank all of you that have been supporting my story so far. So keep posting more comments and I'll be sure to get you more chapters.**

**By the way I want to put a request out to any talented artist. If you'd be ok with doing a cover image for this story I'd be really grateful to you. While I like the one I have currently it just doesn't fit the story.**

**Also I'd like put out a challenge to any dedicated author, I have several story challenges posted on my profile page. If any of you are up to taking on one of these challenges please let me know as I'd like to read that story.**


	4. A Past Revisited

**A Shinobi A Long Way from Home**

_Chapter IV_

_A Past Revisited_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Digimon

XXX

"There is no way this is going to work." said a disbelieving Naruto.

"It will, it has too." Henry said although he sounded unsure of himself.

"Come on Henry if you're going to try and convince me of something at least sound like you believe it." Naruto retorted.

"Why are so sure this isn't going to work Naruto?" asked Takato.

"Takato just look at him, he's doing a freaking handstand. If you can give me one good reason that doesn't sound completely asinine that doing a handstand for an unspecified amount of time will help Gargomon de-digivolve then I'll buy both you and Henry lunch for a week. Hell I'll even flip both Guilmon's and Terriermon's food bill for the both of you as well." Naruto said finding this whole idea to be completely stupid.

Takato opened his mouth to retort but nothing came out, he couldn't come up with one single reason that this should work. Not even the asinine reasons he thought of sounded even remotely possible. "Alright I gotta agree with you, this is stupid and probably won't work." Takato said giving into the blonde.

"Alright, but if this won't work then what do we do, I certainly can't take him home as Gargomon my parents would have a heart attack." Henry asked desperate to find a solution to this problem.

"Ever thought about using a de-digivolution modify card?" Naruto asked. Everything was dead silent for a good minute before he spoke up again, "I'll take your silence as a no."

Henry just calmly walked over to a tree and repeatedly started banging his head against it saying the word stupid each time his head hit the bark. Naruto was seriously beginning to think that he was the only one with common sense. What with at least two Kage not figuring out to use shadow clones to make doing paperwork easier and now both Henry and Takato not thinking to simply use a de-digivolution modify card to help Gargomon change back into his rookie form. And just as Naruto expected with the quick swipe of a card Gargomon reverted back to Terriermon. "Thanks Naruto, now I can get home in time for dinner." Henry said to the blonde.

"Yeah thanks Naruto, now I can get something to eat rather than stand on my hands all night waiting to change back." said Terriermon, though of course his main concern was food.

"Don't mention it guys, what are friends for huh." responded Naruto, just glad that they managed to find a simple way to de-digivolve their partners after a fight. With the problem solved the group of friends decided to head home for the night.

(The Nonaka Residence)

Rika was currently trying to get to sleep but the day's earlier events just kept playing through her mind. Her fight with the goggle-wearing tamer, the pacifist boy's intervention, the blonde's passionate speech about his reasons for fighting, her near death experience only to be saved by the blonde and to be held delicately in his strong arms. It was that particular thought that unsettled her the most and it sent shivers down her spine but no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't get it out of her head. However there was another thing that was on her mind. After seeing how quickly Gargomon lost control of himself after digivolving she began to wonder if the same would happen to Renamon. She soon began to feel conflicted about whether she wanted to chance that happening only for her to quickly squash that thought by reminding herself that she was the best tamer out there and that she and Renamon are way stronger than Terriermon and his tamer. As she finished her internal monologue, her train of thought quickly went back to the blonde and what it felt like to be held by him. It soon became painfully clear to Rika that she wasn't going to be getting much sleep tonight.

(The Next Day)

Today was Saturday much too many people's pleasure, most of which meant no school. Because there was no school Naruto decided to sleep in today. After he woke up he quickly got himself dressed in some loose clothing as he decided to go out for a jog. It was currently 11:00 in the morning and Naruto was rounding a corner making his way back to his apartment when he accidently bumped into someone. "Oh my, are you two alright?" a third person asked.

"Yeah I'm alright Grandma, as for you- wait Whiskers?" said a surprised voice that Naruto recognized.

"Huh, Rika-chan?" asked an equally surprised blonde. "Oh sorry for bumping into you like that."

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that, and what are you doing here anyways? You better not be stalking me." Rika all but shouted, annoyed that he insisted on using that insufferable suffix.

"What, no I'm not stalking you, my apartment isn't too far from here and I was on my way home from a jog." Naruto said trying to stop anyone from coming to the wrong conclusion.

It was at this point that Rika's Grandmother decided to enter the conversation, "Is he a friend of yours Rika, you two must be pretty close if he's already calling you –chan." the older woman said with a pleasant smile on her face with a bit of mischief behind it.

Rika's face did a pretty good imitation of a tomato and was about to deny what her grandmother said but Naruto beat her to the punch, "Why I'm Rika-chan's best friend though she won't admit it. I'm Naruto Uzumaki by the way, and who might you be?"

"A pleasure to meet you Uzumaki-san, I'm Seiko Hata, Rika's grandmother. It's so nice to know that Rika is finally making friends." the older woman said with a grateful smile on her face.

"Please Hata-san just call me Naruto. I don't really care too much for formalities." Naruto said already liking her. She just seems like a pleasant person to be around.

"In that case Naruto-kun just call me by my first name, after all I wouldn't want Rika's best friend to act like we're strangers." Seiko told the blonde.

"We aren't friends Grandma, I don't even like him." Rika told her grandmother while leveling a glare at the blonde teen in front of her.

"Oh Rika-chan why do you have to be so mean to me all of the time, especially since I saved your life yesterday you'd think you'd be a little nicer to me." Naruto said once again being overly dramatic about it while also making Rika blush at the memory of being held in his arms the way she was.

However at the sound of saving Rika's life immediately threw Seiko into a panic, "Rika your life was in danger, what happened, were you hurt, why didn't you tell me?" the older woman fired off in rapid succession in a fit of hysteria.

Rika for her part was silently cursing the blonde for bringing that up since she had no idea what to tell her now freaking out grandmother. She obviously couldn't tell her that she was almost gunned down by a Digimon, luckily for her Naruto came to her rescue, "Don't worry Seiko-san, Rika-chan just wasn't watching where she was going and almost walked out onto a busy street but I pulled her back before she could. We really dodged a bullet right there or should I say car."

Seiko gave sigh of relief that nothing big happened, to her knowledge, and told Rika that she needs to be careful and to watch where she was going. To which Rika responded that she would be more careful from now on. Seiko then turned and bowed to Naruto, "Thank you Naruto-kun for looking out for my granddaughter, as a token of my appreciation I'd like to invite you and your family over for dinner tonight."

Both of the teens were surprised at the older woman's invitation but they quickly understood that this was her way of saying thank you to Naruto. Rika however was dreading the fact that the blonde was most likely about to learn where she lived and that he'd most likely be over for dinner and with his family no less. "Thank you for the invitation Seiko-san, however it will only be me tonight."

Both Rika and Seiko were surprised that Naruto's family wouldn't be joining them for dinner, "Why's that Naruto-kun?" asked the confused older woman thinking that Naruto's parents may not care for him and neglected him.

Naruto's mood seemed to sadden before the two women and both noticed this, and for Rika this was especially weird seeing as she can't recall the blonde ever not smiling. "It's because I have no family, my parents died the day I was born and I live on my own with my guardian sending me money to pay for my necessities." Naruto told them.

_He's an orphan, and he lives by himself. Why would he live by himself and not be adopted?_ Rika was practically screaming in her head because she was so confused about this whole situation. While sure she didn't like the blonde because he just knew how to piss her off, that wouldn't stop others from liking him and wanting to adopt him so why does he live alone. Seiko's thoughts were along the same line, she immediately took a liking to this boy even before she found out that Naruto saved her granddaughter's life. She just couldn't understand why no one would want to be responsible for raising such a nice boy. "I'm sorry for your loss Naruto-kun and I'm sorry for bringing the subject up, and I'm grateful that you will be there tonight." Seiko said feeling bad that she brought up a very sensitive topic for the blonde.

Naruto just smiled, "It's okay Seiko-san, you didn't know and I'm looking forward to tonight. Also this means I get to spend more time with Rika-chan." Naruto said much to Seiko's delight and Rika's annoyance. However she kept her thoughts about this too herself seeing as this was going to happen regardless of what she wanted or not.

Seiko wrote down their address on a small piece of paper and gave it to Naruto and told him to be there for 7:00. Once that was done Naruto took off for home waving good-bye to them. Rika didn't bother to wave back while Seiko just looked at her granddaughter with a mischievous grin on her face, "What a nice boy, you know Rika you'd better be careful. If you don't act soon some other girl just might come in and snatch him up."

Rika's face quickly matched her hair as she looked at her grandmother, "Grandma it's not like that, and I already told you that I don't like the whiskered faced baka."

"Yes I know, but still it doesn't mean that you shouldn't give him a chance. He seems like he genuinely wants to be your friend." Seiko said giving her granddaughter some food for thought, speaking of food, "Well we better get going to the grocery store especially since we're gonna have one more joining us tonight."

"Fine, let's go Grandma." Rika said as she started walking to the store with her grandmother just a few steps behind her.

_I really do hope you give Naruto-kun a chance Rika. I'm positive he can save you from your loneliness and make you smile again._ Seiko thought as she stared at her granddaughter's back.

(A couple of hours later)

Naruto, Henry and Takato all met up wanting to hang out for the day and challenge each other to a few card games. They were on their way towards Guilmon's shed when Terriermon's ears rose up. "Huh what's up Terriermon?" Henry asked.

"My ears for one thing." Terriermon said confusing the three boys.

"Your ears?" asked his tamer.

"Hey guys, is it just me or is that cloud heading straight towards us?" Naruto asked as he pointed out what looked like a cloud closing in on them.

"Uh oh this is not good, guys we need to run." Henry said recognizing the cloud for what it was and knew that they couldn't let it reach them. Not yet anyways. With that the three boys took off in the opposite direction.

"What is that thing?" Takato asked.

"It's a Digital Field!" Henry called back to his goggle-headed friend.

"This just keeps getting better and better. What is a Digital Field and why is it chasing us?" Takato asked again.

"You really do pick the worst time to ask questions." Terriermon told Takato.

"For once I agree with you." Henry told his passenger as they kept running.

"Hey guys, shut up and start running faster, that thing is catching up." Naruto told his two chatting friends. They then quickly realized that Naruto was right and the Digital Field was catching up to them.

"Oh man this thing is fast, were gonna have to split up you two take the bridge." Henry called out, not one to argue right now both Naruto and Takato ran past Henry and up the stairs to the bridge. However when the two looked back they noticed that the cloud was after Henry.

"Oh no, Henry it's after you!" Takato shouted to the blue-haired tamer.

Naruto quickly turned to Takato, "Takato quick go and get Guilmon, I'll go on ahead and back up Henry."

"Huh, but Falcomon's not here how do you plan to back him up?" Takato asked.

And as if appearing out of thin air Falcomon appeared right behind the goggle-wearing tamer, "You called." Falcomon said scaring the crap out of Takato.

"Wha- Falcomon where did you come from?" Takato asked.

Falcomon just chuckled, "A ninja never reveals his secrets, besides we're wasting time here. Henry and Terriermon may be in serious trouble right now."

"He's right, so hurry up and get Guilmon while Falcomon and I catch up with Henry." Naruto said.

"Right" Takato said with a nod and with plan put together both Naruto and Falcomon took off in the direction that Henry and Terriermon went hoping to catch up in time while Takato took off in the opposite direction in order to get Guilmon.

Naruto kept running wondering where Henry ran off too until he noticed that there was a Digital Field surrounding a building still under construction. "That's got to be it." Naruto said as he took off in that direction. Once he got there he pulled out his orange sports shades and put them on and ran into the construction site. There he saw Henry starting at a giant gorilla with a cannon for right hand like he'd seen a ghost. "Henry what's wrong?" Naruto asked the blue-haired tamer snapping Henry out of his daze.

"Oh Naruto thank god you're here, where's Takato?" Henry asked.

"He'll catch up, he went to get Guilmon so he's probably on his way at this moment. But for now what's up with the monkey?" Naruto asked.

"His name is Gorillamon and this isn't the first time we met." Henry told the blonde.

Naruto was a little surprised at this, "Really what happened?" he asked.

Henry just shook his head, "It's a long story but let's just say that we've fought before and the results didn't end in his favor."

Naruto now understood what's going on, "I see and by the looks of things I'd say he's back for round two." Naruto said.

"Looks that way." Henry said, it wasn't much longer before Takato arrived with Guilmon.

"Whoa, he's a big one. So guys what'd I miss?" Takato asked.

"Nothing much, but apparently monkey boy over there has a bone to pick with these two." Naruto said letting Takato know what's going on.

Henry than took a few steps forward getting Gorillamon's attention, "Gorillamon please go back to the Digital World, I don't want to fight you." Henry said hoping to reason with the digital gorilla.

"Henry I don't think he can be reasoned with." Naruto said.

"I have to try. I'd rather not have to resort to violence to solve this." Henry said before trying to reason with Gorillamon again, "Gorillamon please this isn't going to solve anything and I'm not going to let Terriermon fight you."

Gorillamon though was done waiting around and aimed his cannon right at the three humans and fired. The three boys hit the deck fast and their Digimon were quick to come to their aid. "Pyro Sphere!" "Ninja Blade!" shouted Guilmon and Falcomon respectively. Terriermon was about to attack but stopped when he heard his tamer's voice, "Wait stop Terriermon, don't attack Gorillamon."

"What!" were the shouts of Terriermon, Naruto and Takato.

"Terriermon I don't want you to fight Gorillamon." Henry said to his partner.

"Henry have you lost your mind, Terriermon has to fight." Naruto shouted at his blue-haired friend.

"No Naruto he doesn't. You don't understand, fighting is pointless, it doesn't solve anything and it only gets other hurt." Henry said to the blonde haired tamer.

Naruto however was pissed at what Henry was saying, "I don't understand, alright that's it come here you bastard it's time for me to teach you a lesson." Naruto said as he grabbed Henry by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up anger evident on his face, "I'm afraid you're wrong Henry, in fact you're dead wrong. You're the one that clearly doesn't understand so let me spell it out for you. You have to fight, whether you like it or not. You may not like violence and wish to seek for a peaceful solution and I can respect that, but what happens when negotiations fail like they did just now. Are you gonna stand by and let that Digimon go on a rampage cause let me tell you what will happen if you do. People, innocent people might I add, people who have nothing to do with this are going to get hurt and it will be all your fault because you didn't stop them. And let me ask you, can you live with that?" Naruto said to the blue-haired tamer. Henry's eyes widened in response to Naruto's words, "As a tamer it's your responsibility to stop Digimon who crossover to this world, because if you don't then who will? Tell me Henry who will be there to stop them if Takato, Rika or myself aren't there to step in?"

It didn't take Henry long to answer the currently enraged blonde, "N-No one, no one will be able to stop them."

It seemed to Naruto that Henry was finally starting to understand his situation so he put Henry down so he could focus on the fight with Gorillamon. Takato for his part was a little scared of Naruto after all of that, he'd never seen the blonde so angry before. "Good it seems that you're beginning to understand your situation. Now get up and help us defeat Gorillamon."

Takato went over to Henry's side to help him up, "Hey Henry are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Takato and sorry for earlier. Naruto's right it's our responsibility to protect everyone else from Digimon that would seek to hurt them and I couldn't see that. I'm such a coward." Henry said upset about the way he acted.

"You're not a coward Henry, you wanted to seek a peaceful solution between you and Gorillamon. That's something I respect about you, but you need to understand that there are Digimon and people too who just can't be reasoned with and the only way to stop them is through the use of violence. If you want to keep the peace for everyone you must be ready for war." Naruto told not just Henry but Takato too, this was an important lesson that they needed to understand if they were going to protect the people of this city.

(At the same time on the battlefield)

After Naruto began his verbal tongue lashing on Henry Terriermon quickly joined Guilmon and Falcomon to take on Gorillamon. "You know Falcomon I gotta say that your tamer can be quite terrifying when he wants to be." Terriermon said to dark feathered Digimon.

Falcomon just chuckled, "You don't know the half of it. The guy is also a fucking slave driver when it comes down to training." Falcomon said. "Anyways let's focus on the King Kong wannabe in front of us."

"Right!" he got from his two teammates. "Firecracker Smokescreen!" Falcomon called out dropping his bamboo explosives on the ground. Gorillamon was having a hard time seeing his enemies through the smoke and he was about to blast it in hopes of clearing the smoke but also at maybe the chance of hitting one of this opponents but had to quickly duck as a red fire ball came flying at him. He raised his arm again at the cloud of smoke knowing that one of his enemies was in there but before he got the chance to attack his arm was hit by several shuriken thrown at him by Falcomon. Changing targets he jumped after his airborne foe and back handed Falcomon sending him crashing into the ground.

He was about to blast Falcomon, but he got interrupted for a third time when Guilmon head butted the monkey in his side knocking him away from Falcomon. Gorillamon was quick to try and get up but he didn't get the chance when Terriermon nailed him in the face with his Bunny Blast attack.

"Nice shot." Guilmon told his smaller friend as the three rookies lined up ready for round two.

Gorillamon eventually got to his feet and boy was he pissed. "Hey guys I think the monkey is really pissed off at us." Terriermon said.

"Thank you Captain Obvious." Falcomon said in response to Terriermon's unnecessary restatement of the obvious.

"Huh, Captain Obvious, but I thought his name was Terriermon?" asked a confused Guilmon.

"It's called sarcasm Guilmon." Falcomon told the virus type dinosaur.

"What's that?" Guilmon asked.

"Jeez you're just like your tamer, always picking the worst time to ask questions. Just ignore it for now. We'll explain what sarcasm is later." Terriermon said trying to get everyone to focus on the task at hand.

It was then they heard Naruto's voice call out to them, "Falcomon come over here for real quick, Terriermon and Guilmon keep gorilla-boy's attention."

With that Guilmon and Terriermon resumed their fight with Gorillamon while Falcomon went over to see what his tamer wanted. "Alright Falcomon what have you learned about Gorillamon?" Naruto asked seeing as he was focused on lecturing Henry at the time and not studying the enemy.

"Gorillamon is your typical brute type fighter, lots of raw power and predictable attack patterns but is slow and not very intelligent." Falcomon reported to his tamer.

"I see and how do you think we should approach this?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto what are you doing? Guilmon and Terriermon need Falcomon's help." Takato said trying to get the blonde back in the action.

"I am helping them Takato, Falcomon and I are trying to find the most effective way to beat Gorillamon." said Naruto trying to placate his less battle hardened friend, "Anyways tell me what you think Falcomon."

"Well the problem we've run into is just how much more powerful Gorillamon is than any of us. Even though Guilmon has the most raw power on our team this fight would take too long and we run the risk of someone getting hurt in the process or worse. I recommend that we focus on trying to restrain him and to increase our power so that we can do the most amount of damage as possible." Falcomon said getting a nod of approval from his tamer.

"Good analysis Falcomon, looks like all that training is really paying off. Alright we'll go with your plan now get back down there." Naruto said giving Falcomon the go-ahead to get back in the fight. "Did you two catch that?" Naruto asked his fellow tamers.

"Yeah, hold him down and hit him hard." Takato said as his eyes burned with determination.

"It's a good plan and it will probably work." Henry said as he steeled his resolve to finish this fight.

"Alright good so do any of you guys have any modify cards that can keep Gorillamon still for a bit?" Naruto asked.

"I have this Training Grips card that Kazu gave me earlier today." Takato said as he pulled out the card.

"That's perfect, give the card to Henry and here take this Power modify card. Henry use the card when I give the signal and Takato once Gorillamon is all tied up use the card I gave you to boost Guilmon's attack strength." Naruto said as three tamers swapped cards.

At the same time Falcomon was telling his two teammates the general plan. "Alright so you guys got it, you and me will run distractions Terriermon and see if we can try and tie him up while Guilmon does his best to do as much damage as possible."

"Okkie dokkie." said Guilmon as he prepared to carry out the plan. (A/N: I have no idea if I spelt that right.)

"Sounds good to me." Terriermon said excitedly. He then took off to the right drawing Gorillamon's attention and kept firing his Bunny Blast at the white furred monkey. Gorillamon raised his arm and started shooting at Terriermon but kept missing every shot. He lined himself up for another shot but was hit in the shoulder by a red fire ball that knocked off his aim making him hit a nearby fork lift. He turned his gaze towards the red saurian Digimon and was about to throw a bad of sand at him but the bag was cut open by several shuriken thrown by Falcomon.

"Alright Henry do it now!" Naruto shouted.

"Digi-Modify…Training Grips Activate!" Henry said as metal objects appeared on Terriermon's larger ears. Terriermon didn't waste any time chucking them at Gorillamon. Once they made contact the completely tangled themselves around Gorillamon's arms and torso.

"Digi-Modify…Power Activate!" Takato said completing his part of the plan.

"Now everyone attack!" Naruto called out to the three Digimon.

"Ninja Blade!" Falcomon said as he unleashed another hail of shuriken at Gorillamon.

"Terrier Tornado!" Terriermon said as he began to rapidly spin forming a miniature tornado that lifted Gorillamon in the air only for gravity to kick in sending him crashing into the ground.

"Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon said as he unleashed his powerful fireball that was twice the size it should be at Gorillamon as he was trying to get up only to knock him back down again.

Smoke hung in the air for a little bit but the three Digimon didn't drop their guard not believing it was over until the smoke cleared. They soon heard a growl emanate from the cloud of smoke telling them that Gorillamon was still up and kicking. When it cleared they saw Gorillamon break free from his restraints and aim his cannon at the three Digimon. However Terriermon was faster when he fired his Bunny Blast right into Gorillamon's cannon blowing up on the inside and effectively deleting the Champion level Digimon. Terriermon went to go and try and absorb Gorillamon's data however he was once again stopped by his tamer's voice, "Terriermon stop, I don't want you to download his data."

Terriermon looked a bit down at that but then cheered up seeing as it really wasn't necessary, "Can I do a victory dance instead then, huh can I?" asked the bunny.

"Good work guys, that was a hard fought victory." Naruto said as they all felt the adrenaline leave there systems.

"Yeah great job, but what do you think happened to Gorillamon's data?" asked Takato.

"I don't know but hopefully he went back to the other side." Henry said hoping that everything between Gorillamon and him and Terriermon was over.

"Yeah well as much fun as all of this is I need to get going. I was invited to dinner over at Rika-chan's tonight." Naruto said as he stretched his arms out for no apparent reason.

"Huh the girl that you saved yesterday?" Henry asked.

"Yup the one and the same." Naruto answered.

"Hey Naruto I gotta ask, why do you seem so hell bent on becoming friends with that girl? I mean she's just so mean to everyone and the way she treats Digimon is terrible." Takato asked wondering why his blonde friend was so adamant about befriending the fiery haired girl.

Naruto dropped his smile as his bangs covered his eyes, "It's her eyes, her eyes are like mine were at one point. They are just so full of sadness, anger and loneliness, and I know what kind of hell dealing with those emotions on a daily basis feels like so of course I'd want to help her."

Henry and Takato were confused at what their blonde haired friend was saying, "What are you talking about Naruto?" Henry asked, concerned about his friend.

Naruto just shook his head, "Let's just say that I didn't have the best of childhoods and leave it at that, okay guys." Naruto said to his friends as he looked up at them, and they could see the haunted look in his eyes. One they thought didn't belong on their cheerful friend's face. Takato and Henry now realize that there is more to their blonde friend then they knew but he just wasn't comfortable with telling them about it. If that was the case they wouldn't force him, he'll tell them when he's ready. And just like that all of that pain they could see in his eyes was gone replaced by the look they were familiar with. "Well enough with the depressing stuff I need to get going so I can get ready and get this one something to eat. So see ya guys maybe we can hang out tomorrow." Naruto said as he and Falcomon took off for his apartment.

(Later at Naruto's apartment)

After Naruto got back to his apartment he quickly made a shadow clone to start preparing some food for Falcomon while he could hop in the shower and get cleaned up. Naruto decided that for tonight he'll forgo his usual jacket and that he'll dress slightly more formal though it'd still be completely casual. When he walked out of his room he was wearing a blue button up T-shirt with the top three buttons undone revealing his white undershirt, he kept his tan khaki pants but decided to where completely black high top shoes with some white outlining. He didn't bother trying to fix his hair since it was completely untamable, and to top everything off he decided to wear his orange sunglasses on top of his head with his D-Ark clipped to the back of his pants. "So Falcomon, how do I look?" Naruto asked his feathered friend.

"You look good Naruto, trying to impress a certain red head?" Falcomon asked teasingly.

Naruto's face quickly turned red, "Wha- n-no I'm not trying to impress Rika-chan. I just thought I should at least look nice for dinner."

"Oh I get it, you're not trying to impress her, you're trying to impress her family, you sly dog." Falcomon said having too much seeing his tamer all flustered.

"Oi shut up you stupid owl." Naruto said immediately beginning another argument between the two. However the argument didn't last long as Naruto had to get going otherwise he'd be late and that wouldn't look good. Wait why did he care about that so much?

(The Nonaka Residence)

Rika was annoyed, she got a reading earlier today about a Digimon appearing but she was stuck with her grandmother all day helping her not only get groceries for tonight's dinner but also cleaning up the house for when Naruto would arrive. It didn't help that the cause for a lot of her recent frustration was going to be coming over to her house not long from now. It was at that precise moment, as if an act of god or some other kind of higher being, that the door bell to her house rung. "Rika could you get that, that's probably your friend!" her grandmother called from the kitchen.

"Yeah I got it Grandma but we aren't friends." Rika said but her grandmothers words from earlier today kept playing through her mind. _Still it doesn't mean that you shouldn't give him a chance. He seems like he genuinely wants to be your friend._

_Could Grandma be right and that Whiskers might really want to be my friend?_ Rika asked herself. She hasn't had a friend in so long that she has forgotten what's like to have one. She quickly banished those thoughts from her mind and answered the door and low and behold it was their guest for the night, "Hey Rika-chan, miss me?"

"Hardly." Rika answered coldly.

"Again, why are you so mean to me Rika-chan? That's not how you treat your best friend." Naruto asked.

"Well maybe you'll take the hint and leave me alone." Rika said but as those words came out of her mouth somewhere in the deep recesses of her being a very small part of her felt scared that they might come to pass.

"Now you know I can't do that, otherwise there'd be no one around to look out for you and help you dodge bullets. Besides we both know that you love me and that you can't stand to be without me around to liven up your life." Naruto said with that infuriating smile on his.

Rika face turned bright red at Naruto's words, "Keep dreaming." Rika told him.

"Well anyways are you gonna invite me in or are you gonna let me stand out here in the cold?" Naruto asked, although he was far from cold since it was still early fall.

"Hmm, I'm tempted to just close the door right now and leave you there." Rika said, she'd never admit it but she was really starting to have fun with this battle of wits.

"Again with the meanness Rika-chan, but I don't have to worry if you just leave me here Seiko-san will just let me in." Naruto said, he noticed that as they continued this little game of theirs that Rika was slowly lightening up.

"Fine whatever, come on in." Rika said letting Naruto win the battle but the war was far from over. However around the corner Seiko heard every word that was exchanged by the two teens and she also noticed that as they continued their little banter Rika's tone was slowly getting less and less harsh and more friendly and playful. And for that she'd have to once again thank the blonde boy. She made her way back to the kitchen to put on the finishing touches on tonight's dinner.

"Nice place you got here Rika-chan." Naruto commented

"Thanks I guess." Rika said not really knowing what to, she's never really had an actual casual conversation where she didn't completely blow off the person who was talking to her after a minute.

"So what do your parents do to pay for a place like this?" Naruto asked hoping to get a little more information on the girl he was standing next to.

Rika flinched slightly at the sound of her parents, as both her mother and father. Her father that was no longer with her. Naruto caught the flinch and realized that something happened to Rika involving them, "My mom is a very famous super model, that's how we can afford this place." Naruto didn't miss the lack of mention of her father and came to the conclusion that it was the unintended mention of her father that made her flinch earlier. So he decided to avoid any topic that might include the man.

"Wow I guess that means you're rich, I never would've called that. Most rich people I've met were snobbish arrogant assholes with sticks shoved so far up their asses it wasn't even funny." a certain pale eyed clan came to mind, "But you, the only time I've seen you arrogant was when it involved Digimon otherwise you make no effort about throwing around your family's status." Naruto said, though Rika didn't quite know how to take it. On one hand he was praising her for her more modest nature about her family's financial status but on the other hand he called her arrogant and that was a blow to her pride. So she just decided to leave it alone for right now, she'll get him back for that later anyways.

It was at that time that they heard Seiko calling them for dinner. When they entered the dining area Naruto's nose was assaulted by the absolutely delicious smelling food that the older woman prepared. It made his mouth water as if it was preparing to inhale ramen. "Oh man Seiko-san that smells delicious, I can't wait to try it." Naruto said quickly taking his seat at the table. Seiko took her own seat leaving Rika with a choice either sit next to Naruto or across from him and sit next to her grandmother. She quickly decided she'd rather sit next to her grandmother even if she had to stare at the blonde for the entire meal.

"Itadakimasu" they all said and began to dig into their meal. After the first bite Naruto was quick to praise the chef for her fantastic cooking, "This is delicious Seiko-san, you'll have to give me the recipe." Naruto said surprising the two women.

"You cook?" asked a disbelieving Rika.

"I can cook, while I admit I'm no five star chef I know how to navigate my way around the kitchen. It's kind of a skill I had to learn since I live on my own and I eventually grew to enjoy it." Naruto told them as took another bite of his food.

"I'm surprised Naruto-kun, you don't find many boys your age that like to cook. I'll gladly give you a few of my recipes." Seiko said with a pleasant smile on her face. She took a few more bites of her meal before deciding to ask Naruto another question, "So Naruto where do you come from, I understand that you moved here recently."

Naruto smiled already prepared for when that inevitable question would come around, "I come from a village called Konoha, you won't find it on any map since we like to keep our location a secret. But it's a nice place with a very warm atmosphere." Naruto said remembering his home village fondly.

"So then why'd you move?" Seiko asked her next question.

Naruto just looked down at his plate before answering, "I didn't have a choice. I was forced to move here and I can't go back." Naruto said, still upset that he'll never see his home again.

"What why?" Seiko asked again, wondering the circumstances for Naruto being forced to move here. Rika also paused in her meal curious as to why he wasn't allowed to go home.

Naruto would have to disappoint them, "I'm sorry, I'm just not comfortable explaining it to you right now." Naruto said.

Seiko immediately backed off, "I understand Naruto-kun, we won't force you to tell us."

"Thank you Seiko-san." Naruto said genuinely thankful that he wouldn't have to lie to them since everything he's told them so far has pretty much been the truth. Rika for her part was disappointed that she wouldn't hear why Naruto wasn't allowed to go home but understood that there are some things that people just don't want to share with others. She should know, since she practically hides who she is from her own family.

"So Naruto-kun, what was it like growing up in your village?" Seiko asked, hoping to deviate the conversation away from any depressing topics, unfortunately for her she just accidently brought up another sensitive topic for the blonde.

The tension in the air grew as they waited for Naruto's response, "My childhood is far from anything that would be ideal. At first I out right hated my village for how they treated me. For a long time I was hated, glared at and ostracized by just about everyone in the village for something I had neither control over nor knowledge of until I was older. It got so bad that I eventually started to hate myself and even considered suicide more than once." Naruto said shocking the two women of his tragic tale, the thought that this usually happy and cheerful person considered suicide at such a young horrified them. But at the same time also confused Rika to no end, how could he act so cheerful when he went through so much. She didn't however interrupt his story, "But then I met Hokage-jiji, our village leader, and he treated me like I was his own grandson. Eventually I began meeting people who didn't hate me and actually cared about me, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Ero-Sennin, and Tsunade Baa-chan. Not to mention all of the friends I made, they saved me from my loneliness and I'll forever be in their debt." Naruto ended his tale with a smile on his face and a few tears could be seen by his hosts.

"I'm so sorry that I keep bring up these painful topics for you Naruto-kun, but I must say that you are one of the strongest people I've ever met to go through all of that and still have the courage to smile." Seiko said mentally kicking herself for making the blonde relive those painful moments. But at the same time was thinking that he was gift given to them by god, he had gone through so much but that didn't stop him from letting people into his life, something that she's hoping he will teach her granddaughter to do. "Naruto-kun, it's obvious by the way you spoke of those people that they really mean a lot to you, why don't you tell us about them."

Naruto just smiled and began telling them about the people that saved his life, how Sarutobi-jiji was like his grandfather, how Iruka-sensei was like an older brother to him, how Kakashi-sensei was like his chronically late perverted uncle, how Ero-Sennin was like his father and Tsunade Baa-chan was like the mother he never had. And he loved them all as if they were those people. Both Seiko and Rika were happy for the blonde that he found people that really cared for him and it was obvious how much he loved them. Seiko was glad that the conversation was starting to progress on a lighter note, Naruto even told them of all the pranks he used to pull that even got Rika laughing. It wasn't much longer until they were finished with dinner and Rika got up and excused herself from the table. "Well Seiko-san I must dinner was delicious and I thank you for it, but I think it's about time I get going." Naruto said to the older woman.

"No no thank you Naruto-kun for coming over and again I'm sorry for bring up those hard times for you but know that you're welcome here any time." replied the older woman.

"Thank you, however before I go I think I'll go say goodnight to Rika-chan." Naruto told her. Naruto got up from the table and began looking for the fiery haired girl, it didn't take him long before he found her sitting outside in front of a koi pond. "Hey there Rika-chan."

"What do you want Whiskers?" Rika asked in an annoyed tone.

"Easy, I'm just here to say goodnight. No reason to go biting my head off." Naruto told the girl.

"Whatever." the girl said not wanting to look in his direction.

"It hurts doesn't it huh?" Naruto asked in a way that told he knew the answer, and getting a wide eyed look from the girl in front of him as she quickly turned around to face him.

"W-What are you talking about?" and now nervous Rika stuttered.

"Losing someone you care about, it hurts a lot. I know the feeling." Naruto said as he sat down besides her.

"What makes you so sure that I've lost somebody?" she asked.

"It's your eyes Rika, your beautiful amethyst eyes tell me just about everything. You've lost your father didn't you?" Naruto said once again asking the question as if he knew the answer. The lack of using the –chan suffix didn't escape Rika's notice either, it told her that he was being completely serious, although she did blush a bit at the compliment to her eyes.

"How did you know?" Rika asked no longer was she the tough badass Digimon Queen that made dry ice look warm, right now she was a vulnerable fourteen year old girl that has bottled up a lot of repressed emotions.

"I figured it out through sheer observation, I don't know what happened and I won't ask but I want to let you know that I'm here for you and that I do understand what you're going through. Of those people I mentioned before during dinner three of them were murdered, one right before my very eyes and the monster that did it mocked his death." Naruto said shocking the girl once again at how much Naruto has been through. (A/N: While they weren't listed Naruto's friends was a topic and Neji was one of them that came up.)

"Why are you telling me this?" Rika asked, the poor girl was so confused.

Naruto just gave the girl a smile, not his fox like grin, not the smile he used when he was messing with her, and honest to god heartwarming smile, "It's because I trust you Rika and I want you to trust me and that I'd honestly like us to be friends. I know how painful everything is for you right now and I know the hell that all of that pain can do to a person so I want to help you begin to heal. So what do you say, friends?" Naruto asked.

Rika for her part was shocked, impressed but most of all scared. It scared her how well this boy understood her and how little she could hide from him all because he's lived through worse. But that's not it either she's also not sure if she can trust the boy, after being the lone wolf for so many years it's hard for her to start trusting again. Naruto saw all of these emotions running across the girl's face, "Don't worry you don't have to answer me now, if you need time to think then take all of the time you need. I won't be going anywhere for a while. Anyways it was great spending some time with you Rika-chan, hope we can do this again sometime, have a goodnight, you as well Renamon." Naruto said as he looked directly at Renamon who was sitting in a tree listening to the blonde's every word. With his piece said he took his leave.

"Rika are you alright?" Renamon asked her still stunned tamer.

"I-I'm fine Renamon, I think I'm going to go to bed." Rika said to her partner.

XXX

**A/N: Well there's chapter four for you. I sure hope you all enjoyed it.**

**Anyways as for why Naruto was so quickly depressed at remembering his past I felt this was important. While Naruto is known for just about overcoming everything thrown his way the trauma of his mistreatment in Konoha would still be very difficult for him to overcome.**

**In any case please don't forget to review and if your interested, I have story challenges posted on my profile page. Thanks for your continued support and I'll see you next time.**


	5. An Awakening of Old Habits

**A Shinobi A Long Way from Home**

_Chapter V_

_An Awakening of Old Habits_

Disclaimer: I still don't and never will own Naruto or Digimon

XXX

It has been a few days since Naruto was invited over to Rika's place for dinner and he is currently hanging out there right now getting his ass handed to him by Rika in the Digimon card game. Naruto had quickly learned why they called her the Digimon Queen. No matter what kind of strategy he tried Rika always had a counter-strategy. "Goddamn it Rika-chan, can't you let your best friend win just one game?" Naruto asked as he lost their tenth game in a row.

"Pfft hell no Whiskers." Rika said competitively but with a hint of playfulness in her voice. While she never actually said it, Rika has come to accept Naruto as a friend and has been slowly, and I mean very slowly, opening up to him. She is still standoffish to her family and Renamon but otherwise she has been lightening up a bit, and it's all thanks to Naruto. Recently Naruto has been challenging her to the Digimon card game and has been sorely outclassed by Rika at every turn. However Rika has noticed that with each game that goes by Naruto gets better and the game lasts just a little bit longer. Rika realized that it wouldn't be long before Naruto would be giving her a good run for her money. Good she's been needing some good competition around anyways, beating amateurs gets boring after a while.

Naruto internally smiled as he saw how much Rika has progressed, while the progress has been slow it is still noticeable to the people that know her. It was then that he caught sight of Rika's grandmother out of the corner of his eye watching over them with grateful smile at the improvement's Rika is making in her social life. It was then that Naruto got an evil idea, "Oh why not Rika-chan, it's not like letting me have it just one time will mean anything and it's not like anyone will know." Naruto whined to his fiery haired friend.

Seiko immediately just started laughing at what Naruto said and seeing the scandalized look on Rika's face was just an extra reason to laugh. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU HAVE TO GO AND SAY IT LIKE THAT YOU PERVERT!" Rika yelled at the blonde her face bright red at the double meaning of what Naruto said.

Naruto just smiled evilly at the girl, "Wha- me a pervert, why I never. You're the one who took my words out of context. I had no idea Rika-chan had such a dirty mind. I was simply referring to the game we were playing."

Seiko just couldn't stop laughing at how Rika's face just kept getting redder and redder at what Naruto was insinuating. While the joke was on the inappropriate side, it was still funny none the less. "Goddamn it Whiskers, why do always have to go out of your way to either piss me off or embarrass me?" Rika shouted.

"Why, it's simple really. You're really cute when you're angry or embarrassed and when you're both you're absolutely adorable." Naruto said milking this for everything it was worth. At this point Naruto was sure that fifty percent of the blood that was in Rika's body was all gathered in her face judging by how red it was. Rika just couldn't take it anymore and lunged at her blonde haired friend, ready to knock his freaking teeth out. Naruto however quickly got out of the way and began running away from the enraged redhead laughing like a lunatic while Rika chased after him threatening to castrate him with a rusty carving knife. Under normal circumstances parents would tell the kids not to run in the house, but because this is the first time in a long time that Seiko had seen Rika interacting with others she decided to let it go and she was very grateful to the blonde for being able to put a crack in the emotional barriers that Rika put around her heart and is continuing to chip away at it.

(Naruto's Apartment)

Later that night Naruto returned home after enjoying another one of Seiko-san's delicious meals not to mention he managed to escape the clutches of one very pissed off redhead and even better she wasn't able to carry out her threat. Naruto would've kept thinking about his victory over the redheaded girl if his thoughts weren't interrupted by rumbling in the deep recesses of his mind. _Huh, could he finally be waking up?_ Naruto thought to himself as he quickly sat down and entered his mindscape. When he opened his eyes again he was in what looked like a sewer with ankle deep water and in front of him was Kurama that seemed to be on the verge of waking up, "Oi Kurama wake up!" Naruto called out to his companion. But the fox made no notion of hearing the blonde. Naruto decided that he didn't have the patience for this, "HEY SLEEPING BEAUTY WAKE THE FUCK UP!" Naruto shouted.

**"****Gah shut the hell up kit, can't you see I'm trying to sleep here?"** came the deep sleepy voice from the oversized fox.

"I think you slept long enough as it is Kurama." Naruto said, glad that the fox was awake again.

**"****Says you, I feel like I only got a couple of hours of sleep. How long was I asleep anyways?" ** Kurama asked after he decided to stretch himself out.

"Eh, a couple of weeks." Naruto answered.

It was then that Kurama noticed something off about Naruto, **"Oi kit, why the hell do look like your fourteen again. Just what the hell have you been up too while I was asleep?"**

Naruto rubbed the back of his head knowing that this was coming, "Yeah that's a long ass story."

**"****Then start telling it, as you can plainly see I've got nowhere to go." **Kurama said.

"Alright, you know how before you went to sleep you gave me your left over chakra so I could beat Sasuke?" Naruto asked starting from the beginning.

**"****Yeah that's the last thing I remember before being rudely woken up by a loud ass blonde."** Kurama said getting an annoyed look from his host.

"Yeah well the fight didn't end like you'd expect. You see Sasuke managed to use one of the powers from the Rinnegan that managed to drain a portion of the chakra you gave me for himself. Anyways Sasuke and I decided to put the rest of our power into one last attack and we both charged each other with our signature techniques. We even added some of the chakra that the Old Hermit dude gave us. However when our attacks clashed it somehow tore a hole in the dimension and it sucked me up." Naruto told the fox already getting looks of disbelief from his friend.

**"****So you're telling me the moment I turn my back you get yourself sucked up into another dimension?" **Kurama asked, making sure he was on the same page as the blonde.

"Yeeeaaah pretty much." Naruto said as he once again rubbed the back of his neck.

**"****Great this is just fucking perfect, I can't take my eyes off you for a second can I? Anyways you still haven't explained why you look younger."** Kurama said, somehow not all that surprised the blond managed to get them into some kind trouble.

"I was getting to that, anyways when I finally woke up I was in a completely different world. One filled with creatures that call themselves Digital Monsters or Digimon for short." Naruto began explaining once again.

**"****Digimon?"** asked the giant fox.

"Uh huh, apparently they come in all different shapes and sizes, and they can get to be quite powerful. Some of which I'm willing to bet could even give you a challenge." Naruto said immediately perking Kurama's interest.

**"****Really, they could give me a challenge. Well if we come across one strong enough I'll have to see for myself how strong they can be."** Kurama said, already looking forward to the challenge.

"Yup, although apparently my appearance in the Digital World, the Digimon's home world, sparked the curiosity of Fanglongmon aka the God of the Digital World." Naruto said getting a wide eyed look from Kurama.

**"****You always did manage to attract those kinds of people too you."** Kurama said throwing in his own two cents.

"To this day I still have no idea why, anyways back to the story. Fanglongmon wanted to see me and I figured that he'd be the best person to go too for information. But before he could answer my questions he needed to look through my memories to understand where I came from. Once he finished I asked him some of my questions, one of them being if I could get home somehow. Unfortunately what brought us here was the clash between my Yang chakra and Sasuke's Yin chakra, and since we're missing a half of the energy we need to create a portal it's impossible for me to get back. Fanglongmon also said that even if we could open up another portal there's no guarantee that it would lead us home, more than likely we'd just end up in another dimension." Naruto said laying out how they're trapped in this world with no way home.

**"****I see, that all makes sense actually."** Kurama said as he pondered Naruto's words.

"Yeah so with no way home Fanglongmon offered to send me to this dimension's human world so long as I become a Digimon Tamer and help the other tamers out as well." Naruto said.

**"****Digimon Tamer?"**

"It's basically when a human and a Digimon partner up and the human helps the Digimon Digivolve, basically transforming to a higher level and becoming much stronger. You see Fanglongmon sensed a coming threat and asked if I'd help them out. And since I can't stand the thought of letting a world get destroyed so long as I have the power to help save it I decided I'd give them a hand. And so here we are." Naruto said.

**"****Damn kit we really need to work on your Hero complex. Anyways you still haven't told me why you look younger."** Kurama said reminding the boy of this important detail.

"Oh that, well you see when Fanglongmon was scanning my memories he took notice of all of the damage that I took from my onslaught of battles that I went through during the war. He told me that a lot of the damage was irreversible since you were knocked out reducing my healing factor, so the solution he came up with for this problem was to revert me back to when I was fourteen. Also another reason is because the other tamers are also around this age so it'd be easier for me to meet them if I was the same age as them. The final reason he did it was to give me the full experience of what it's like to live in this world, and I gotta say it ain't too bad here." Naruto said with his fox like grin on his face.

**"****I see, I guess that's everything right?"** Kurama asked.

"Yeah that's about it." Naruto said.

**"****Damn kit you really are the number one most unpredictable ninja you know that. I've seen you get involved in some crazy shit but I think this one takes the cake." **Kurama told the blonde.

"What can I say, I wouldn't be me if this shit didn't happen to me all of the time." Naruto said with a shrug of his shoulders.

**"****Ain't that the truth, so I take it you've also been paired up with one of these so called Digimon?" **Kurama asked.

"Yeah his name is Falcomon, he's supposed to be a falcon though he looks like an owl and he hates it when you say that to his face." Naruto said telling Kurama his favorite method of messing with his other partner.

**"****I see well with me awake again I guess I'll be seeing what these Digimon are like for myself. By the way kit I think your partner is trying to get your attention."** Kurama said.

"Oh well in that case I'd better see what he wants." Naruto said as he left his mindscape.

"Oi Naruto wake up already!" Falcomon shouted right into Naruto's ear.

"AH Goddamn it Falcomon, who the fuck just screams in someone's ear like that?" Naruto said clutching his still ringing ear.

"I trying to wake you up but nothing seemed to work, I was just about to go and get a bucket of water." Falcomon said.

"I wasn't asleep you bird brained moron, I was talking to Kurama, he finally woke up." Naruto said.

"You mean that fox your father sealed inside of you when you were a baby?" Falcomon asked.

"Yeah, I was catching him up with everything he's missed recently. Anyways what did you want?" Naruto asked.

"I was gonna ask you what took you so long to get home from your girlfriend's so you make me something to eat." Falcomon told the blonde.

**"****Girlfriend? Oi kit did you finally go and get yourself a vixen while I was out?" **Kurama asked through their link. The thought of Rika as his girlfriend made Naruto blush a bit.

"She's not my girlfriend." Naruto said to both Falcomon and Kurama, though the former was unaware of the latter.

"But you want her to be." Falcomon said like he was reporting the weather.

**_Oh ho I like this Falcomon already, and I'm gonna have so much fun with this._**** "****Hey kit your gonna have to tell me all about this vixen you have a crush on."** Kurama said further teasing the blonde.

"GAH shut up the both of you. How many times do I have to say it, Rika-chan is not my girlfriend!" Naruto shouted much to Kurama's enjoyment and Falcomon's confusion.

"Naruto there's only me here." the dark feathered Digimon said.

"No Falcomon, both you and Kurama are being assholes about this." Naruto said annoyed by all of this.

"Oh, anyways what's for dinner?" Falcomon asked.

Naruto then decided to get back at Falcomon for all of the trouble he's causing, "I don't know Falcomon, I don't think you deserve a meal after everything you just said."

"WHAT, you can't be serious Naruto. Please tell me you're joking. I don't I'll survive the night unless I get something to eat. Look if it's about before then I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry." Falcomon freaked out. Had Naruto known that Falcomon would freak out like this he'd have done it sooner.

"Alright don't get your feathers ruffled, I'll make you something to eat." Naruto said as he entered the kitchen with tears of joy going down Falcomon's face.

**"****Oi kit you may have stopped him for the time being but you still have to deal with me, and I'm gonna enjoy every second of this."** Kurama told his host with a grin.

_"__Go right ahead Kurama, you know I'll just get you back for it sooner or later."_ Naruto told his tenet threateningly.

**"****Keep telling yourself that kit."** Kurama said before he decided that some more sleep was in order.

(Later that week)

Naruto was on his way to school when he saw a large gathering outside the building where he'd be trapped for the next few hours. When he got there he quickly saw that there was a bunch of chalk lines squiggled all over the soccer field. As he walked past everyone he heard the students coming up with the most ridiculous of stories. He soon walked up to Henry and Takato, "Hey guys can you believe some of the theories these people are coming up with?" Naruto asked his two friends.

"I know right, I heard some guy say that they were drawn but mutant robots from another time telling us there here to take over the world." Takato said laughing at the ridiculousness of it.

"You're joking." Henry said.

"No I'm dead serious." Takato said.

"I swear some people come up with the craziest things." Naruto said as he sighed, wanting nothing more than to smack said student upside the head for even considering it.

**"****Damn kit these people might just be stupider than you, and that's saying something."** Kurama said amazed at the retarded theories that everyone was coming up with.

_"__Go to hell."_ was all Naruto told his tenet before the three of them decided to head off to homeroom. When they got there they saw a bunch of students surrounding Kazu and another student playing an intense game of Digimon.

"Heh good move buddy buy I Warp Digivolve my Agumon to SkullGreymon and give him the Power modify card allowing him to take out your Meramon and letting me take the lead. I'm just one turn away from winning this game." Kazu said confidently.

The other student began looking worried, and just for the hell of it Naruto looked over the boy's shoulder and easily saw the combination of cards he could use to win the game. However the other boy didn't seem to notice them. "Hey you alright?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, but it looks like I'm gonna lose this game, may as well surrender now." the boy said a little upset that he still couldn't be Kazu.

"If you don't mind I'd like to take over for you for this turn, I think I know how beat him." Naruto said, "That is if you don't mind Kazu."

"Sure go for it, I've got this game in the bag anyways." Kazu said confidently.

With that Naruto and the boy swapped places with Naruto picking up the boy's hand. He looked through the cards again and studied Kazu's field. Naruto then drew his card since it was the start of his turn, "Alright first I move Veemon to my Attack Line and Armor Digivolve him to Flamedramon. Then I play my Wonder Guard modify card that protects Flamedramon from deletion for one attack. Also I play my Power modify card and have Flamedramon attack SkullGreymon." Naruto said shocking everyone there. They all thought it was a dumb move since SkullGreymon still way overpowered Flamedramon and although he wouldn't be destroyed Naruto would still take damage and just barely have enough points to be in the game.

"Heh, what are you suicidal? If you wanted to lose you didn't have to take yourself out for me." Kazu said laughing at the stupid play Naruto made.

Naruto however just smirked and held up another card, "My turn isn't over yet Kazu, next I play Second Strike allowing Flamedramon a second attack this turn but before that I activate the Hyper Chip modify card reactivating the Power modify card I used earlier but doubling its effect now quadrupling Flamedramon's attack strength." Naruto said amazing everyone at how he just turned the game around in his favor.

"WHAT!" Kazu said losing all of the confidence he had just seconds ago.

"And with that Flamedramon attacks and destroys SkullGreymon making me the winner." Naruto said with a grin on his face getting a round of applause from the audience.

Kazu however was just staring at the game field trying to see where the hell he went wrong, he had it, the game was his, so how did he lose just like that? "I want a rematch!" Kazu shouted at the blonde.

"Sure thing Kazu I'll play you later after class." Naruto said as the bell rang signaling that all of the students should be in homeroom.

(Later during lunch)

Naruto saw Takato, Kazu and their other friend Kenta all sitting together talking about something. Naruto decided that he'd join them, "Hey guys mind if I join you?" he asked.

Takato looked up, "Yeah sure take a seat Naruto." Takato said as he looked back towards Kazu, "So Kazu you're planning to enter the tournament next month?" Takato asked his visor wearing friend.

"Yeah, I'm a shooing for first place." Kazu said as he leaned back in his chair.

"Get real Kazu, you're not even in their league." Kenta said.

"Am too, listen up buddy a girl won it last year." Kazu retorted.

"That was not just a girl." Kenta said as if talking about a living legend.

"What are you guys talking about?" Naruto asked feeling left out.

"Oh right your new so you don't know." Takato said realizing that Naruto wouldn't have the first clue as to what they're talking about. "Well you see there's this card shop that holds a big Digimon tournament once a year called the D-1 Grand Prix, with a big cash prize and a five boxes of the newest packs before they hit the shelves for first place while the runner up gets a the same thing only just not as much as the winner. It's a pretty big event that happens and last year a girl pretty much just swept through the competition like it was nothing."

"Yeah, they call her the Digimon Queen." Kazu said.

"Oh you mean Rika-chan. She's the one you guys are talking about." Naruto said with realization.

"Wait you know her, how the hell do you know her?" Kazu asked.

"Why I'm her best friend of course." Naruto said to them like it was the most obvious thing.

"Is she as good as everyone says?" Kenta asked.

"I don't know what everyone says but she kick's my ass all the time." Naruto said.

"Well if the way you beat Kazu is any indication then that means we don't stand a chance if she decides to enter." Kenta said a little depressed at the thought.

"What are you talking about chumley, that was only a fluke earlier. Next time he's going down." Kazu said.

"Yeah keep telling yourself that Kazu, you haven't seen Naruto really play. He thrashes me in every game." Takato said.

"Hey all those ass kicking's that Rika-chan gave me has to be good for something right." Naruto said. The four boys continued to talk about the upcoming tournament for the remainder of the lunch period.

( After School The Next Day)

Naruto once again came to school with the soccer fields drawn on once again. Naruto just decided to ignore it and headed for homeroom. When he got there he saw Kazu giving him the stink eye, Naruto made good on his promise yesterday to give Kazu a rematch and once again beat him. Kazu kept demanding rematches and Naruto kept kicking his ass again and again. Eventually though Naruto got bored and decided to head home with Kazu screaming he wanted another rematch. He just decided to ignore Kazu for the day. When school let out he quickly caught up with Henry and Takato as they were walking out of the building. "Seriously who do you think it could be that's drawing all over the soccer field?" Takato asked the blue haired tamer.

"It's probably some kind of prank but I don't know who it could be." Henry said.

Naruto decided to let his presence be known, "Its most likely a little kid." Naruto said surprising his fellow tamers.

"Naruto, where did you come from?" Takato asked.

"I can't tell you Takato, a ninja never reveals his secrets remember." Naruto said in a tone that implied that he was joking, though he was being completely serious about that rule.

"Ha very funny Naruto, anyway what makes you think it's a little kid that's doing all of this?" Takato asked.

Naruto just looked at the two before responding, "This coming from a top class prankster, I can tell what kind of person they are just by the nature of the prank. Take this thing with the soccer fields for instance, those lines are nothing more than squiggles with no rhyme or reason. If it was someone older then it'd most likely be a message or a crude drawing of one of the teachers. Also any true prankster never pulls the same prank twice."

"I see but if you're right then how did the kid break the lock on the door?" Henry asked.

Naruto just shrugged, "I don't know there's a ton of different ways someone could break a lock like the ones the school uses. Back home, by the time I was eight, there wasn't a single building I couldn't break into to set up a prank."

Henry and Takato just looked at the blonde wondering if he was as good as he claims, "I seriously doubt that." Henry said.

There were a few things that you absolutely did not do when you were standing in front of Naruto Uzumaki, the first is never bad mouth or god forbid destroy ramen in front of him, that's like signing your own death warrant. Another is never and I repeat never question his pranking skills because if you do then you have just unleashed a hell upon people that is not even Satan himself would condemn anyone too. "Do you doubt my skills Henry? Do I need to prove myself?"

One look at Naruto told them that if they didn't try to stop him now then someone somewhere was gonna get pranked hard. "No no Naruto, that's fine." Henry said.

_Too late_. Thought the blonde shinobi its time for Shinjuku to know the terror that is Naruto Uzumaki, oh those poor souls.

(The Next Morning)

Naruto was blissfully asleep when all of a sudden he hears his cell phone go off interrupting his dreams. He picks up the phone and looks at the time before answering, it was 9:00 on a Saturday morning. And here he wanted to sleep in for a change. He decided to just then answer the phone, "What's up Takato?" he asked in a voice that you could tell he just woke up.

"Sorry Naruto did I wake you?" Takato asked.

"Yeah so this had better be important." Naruto said annoyed that his sleep was interrupted.

"Well I was calling because I found out who exactly was drawing the lines on the soccer field." Takato said a little sheepishly.

"You woke me up at 9:00 on a Saturday morning just to tell me that you found out who was drawing lines on the soccer field. And this couldn't have waited till the afternoon why?" Naruto asked even more annoyed that he was a minute ago.

"Well you see it's because the culprit was a Digimon." Takato said.

At the mention that a Digimon was involved Naruto finally finished waking up, "What do you mean a Digimon was doing it, did you have to fight?" he asked.

"No just come over to Guilmon's shed and you'll see." Takato said before he hung up.

Naruto hung up his phone and then climbed out of bed so he could hop in the shower and made a clone that would get started on breakfast.

(Later at Guilmon's Shed)

The three male tamers were currently standing at the entrance of the shed as they watched Guilmon sniff a small white and purple Digimon with big green eyes and big retractable ears. The little Digimon was laughing like crazy being tickled by Guilmon's nose.

"So this is the one responsible for all of vandalizing the school soccer field?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah I'm pretty sure it's him, Guilmon and I found him sleeping behind the shed when we went to go feed the rabbits." Takato told them.

"Well it looks like you were right about who the culprit was Naruto, that definitely looks and sounds like a little kid to me." Henry said.

And Henry couldn't be more right, the little guy was just so innocent and it seemed like that his biggest concern was not having anyone to play with. It actually made Naruto smile a bit. It was then that the little guy took notice of Naruto and flew up to face level to meet him, "Hi I'm Calumon would you like to play with me?" the now named Calumon asked.

Naruto just smiled at the little guy, "I'm Naruto and sure I'll play with you in a sec." Naruto said getting a smile out of Calumon as he quickly went back to playing with Guilmon, Terriermon and Falcomon.

"So do you think we should find the little guy a tamer?" asked Henry.

"Nah don't bother, we'll just be putting an unnecessary burden on someone else. Just one look at Calumon and I can tell that he'll run off to chase the first thing that catches his interest." Naruto said as he watched the four Digimon play.

Henry and Takato quickly looked at Calumon again and they could see that Naruto was right, Calumon was a free wandering spirit that would chase anything that catches his fancy which would basically be just about everything. So they just decided to play with the little guy for the time being.

It was starting to get late and Naruto had already left claiming that he was gonna go annoy a certain red head. Leaving Takato and Henry to deal with the inexhaustible creampuff, seriously how much energy does the little guy have to play non-stop like he does? But with the day drawing to a close it was time for all of them to go home and Takato promised Calumon if he stays with Guilmon for the night that he'll bring him some food before they go to sleep. When Takato returned to the shed with the promised food though both Guilmon and Calumon were gone and he soon noticed a Digital Field enveloping the school. So he quickly took off in that direction. He eventually met up with Henry also on his way to the school since his D-Ark told him of the now appearing Digimon. And boy what Digimon it was that revealed itself. The Digimon was none other than Vilemon, a Champion level Digimon as short as Terriermon. At the mention of his short stature he immediately began attacking Guilmon and Terriermon. He quickly took to the air and attacked them from above and because of his small size and maneuverability it made him a hard target to hit for the two Rookies. The fight however was interrupted by another voice, "This is just getting pathetic, and you're supposed to be a Champion."

"Now now Rika-chan there is no need to be mean to the little guy." said Naruto in a joking manner.

"Shut up Whiskers, I'm still mad at you for that stunt you pulled earlier." Rika said as she glared at her only friend.

"Oh come on Rika-chan can't you take a joke?" Naruto asked as if completely unaware of the situation at hand.

"Hey you two, don't go taking the mighty Vilemon lightly. Otherwise it will be your down fall." Vilemon said preparing for his next attack.

"Yeah yeah whatever short stuff, Renamon." Rika said giving Renamon the order to take him out.

"Diamond Storm!" Renamon said as she launched her attack at the little green bastard. Once he was deleted she quickly downloaded his data.

"She, she killed him just like that." Henry said in shock, still not used to fighting Digimon with the intent to kill.

"Don't thank me I only did it for the data." Rika said as she was about to take her leave.

"Is that all Digimon are to you, just data, just another thing for you to destroy so you can reach your selfish goal of being the best?" Takato asked, angry at how Rika can just kill a Digimon without a second thought.

Naruto however wasn't pleased with Takato's accusations, "Hold it right there Takato, that was uncalled for."

"And you Naruto, how can you just stand there and let her do it. I know that you told us that you and Rika have a few things in common but how can you just accept the way she treats Digimon?" Takato asked directing his anger also towards the blonde.

Rika for her part was done with this conversation and was about leave when she felt a light tug at the bottom of her pants. She looked down and saw Calumon looking up at her with his big green eyes, "Hiya would like to play with us?" Rika for her part was just amazed at the little guy's innocence.

"You stay away from him!" shouted Takato getting Rika to look back at him before turning her gaze to Naruto. Naruto for his part just smiled at her and the look in his eyes told her that he trusted her to do the right thing. With that Rika just marched off without a word to anyone else.

Once Rika was out of earshot Naruto quickly turned to his goggle-wearing friend, "Takato that was completely uncalled for. You didn't have to say those things to her." Naruto said with an angry look in his eyes.

"Naruto, although this is unlike me I have to agree with Takato on this one. While I understand the importance of stopping Digimon like Vilemon before they can hurt other people, the way she treats Renamon and the way she just coldly cuts down Digimon is enough to anger anyone. So why are you defending her?" Henry said backing up Takato on this.

Naruto sighed at this, while under normal circumstances Naruto would agree with his two friends however these weren't normal circumstances, and they just didn't know Rika and all that she's been through. "Look guys I understand where you're coming from, but you guys just don't understand. Rika has been through a lot and it's closed her heart off to the world. I've recently been able put a crack in her armor so to speak and I'm working to try and get her to be a bit more open about her feelings. You may not believe me but under that cold exterior is a kind, but very hurt and vulnerable girl and she just doesn't know any other way to protect herself. So just give me a little time and I'm pretty sure I can get her to stop murdering Digimon in cold blood but defeat them to protect everyone else. And while I'm at it you guys should at least make the effort to try and befriend her. If she's going to open up she needs to be around people she can trust, but she can't do that if you guys are harping on her like you did just now." Naruto told them, trying to give them an idea of what Naruto has been doing all of this time. Upon hearing that Takato began to feel a little guilty for the way he yelled at the girl and began to think that he was a bit unfair to her. With his piece said Naruto decided that it was time to go home.

(Monday Morning at School)

Ms. Asaji has just finished taking attendance and was waiting for the first bell to signal the beginning of first period. However when the bell rung she was soon hit in the face with an orange paint filled balloon shot at her from what looked like some kind of launching mechanism that came out of the ceiling earning the raucous laughter of her students. She wasn't the only one though, every teacher in the building had the exact same experience and the principal nearly had a heart attack as a very accurately drawn cardboard cutout of Guilmon popped up in front of his desk scaring the living shit out of him.

Takato and Henry for their part just looked at each other before looking at Naruto who just gave them a shit eating grin before giving them a peace sign. Let it forever be known that you don't question Naruto Uzumaki's pranking skills.

XXX

**A/N: Well here's chapter five for all of you. I really hoped you enjoyed. Anyways please don't for get to leave a comment and I'll see you all next time.**


	6. A Great Breakthrough

**A Shinobi A Long Way from Home**

_Chapter VI_

_A Great Breakthrough_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Digimon

XXX

"We should be expecting tomorrow's weather to be mostly sunny with a slight overcast and with mild temperatures and low humidity. Back to you Yoshino." said the weather man for a local news broadcast.

"Thank you Thomas, in other news the one responsible for this two week long of string of pranks has still yet to be caught. Whoever this person is has managed to dye the local law enforcement's uniforms orange and filled them with itching powder and cat nip while replacing their weapons with rubber chickens and water guns, also during a city council meeting all of the council members were glued to their chairs as they were lifted five feet into the air by their underwear by using a very thin but strong wire. These are just a few of the pranks the culprit has caused and police are working hard to catch whoever it is but they have yet to find any leads on who it might be. Police ask that if you have any information regarding the identity of this prankster to please contact them immediately." the anchor woman said as they then soon cut to commercials.

Henry just turned off his T.V. feeling that he was sorta responsible for all of this happening. While he knew it was Naruto doing this, he wasn't going to turn him in since he's not really doing anything harmful. But he still regretted bringing Naruto's pranking skills into question, he quickly decided that he needed to get Naruto to stop. He pulled out his cell phone and texted him, _Ok Naruto you've made your point. You're the King of Pranks, so you can stop now._

It only took a minute for him to get a response, _Good, now you understand. No one is better at pranking than Naruto Uzumaki. :)_

(At Naruto's Apartment)

Naruto just sat in his living room with a smile on his face. He was just recently watching that same news broadcast, Naruto was proud that his handiwork made its way onto the evening news. He was about to turn in for the night when his D-Ark went off, "No rest for the weary huh, come on Falcomon there's some ass that needs kicking." Naruto called out to his partner.

Falcomon quickly hopped to his feet and followed Naruto out of the apartment. Once outside he took to the air while Naruto decided that he was gonna hop some roof tops for old times' sake. As he followed the compass on his D-Ark he noticed that he was heading in the direction of Shinjuku Park. When they got there they noticed they were the only ones there, most likely the other tamers had already gone to bed. Good, this means it's his turn to fight. "Hey Falcomon, I want you to sit out for this one ok. I haven't been able to cut loose in a while so I could use the work out." Naruto said as he began cracking his knuckles.

"You're the boss." Falcomon said, not minding sitting this one out since he too was curious just what his tamer could do when he fought. They soon caught sight of the newly Bio-merged Digimon and Naruto decided to pull out his D-Ark to see who it was. "Hmm, Ankylomon a Champion level Dinosaur type Digimon, it says here his attacks are Tail Hammer and Megaton Press, sounds fun." Naruto said as he put the device away.

**"****Yeah now I get to see just how strong these Digimon can be for myself." **Kurama said as he was also excited that Naruto was going to fight this time.

_"__Remember Kurama, he's only Champion level. I seriously doubt he'd much of a match for you. Really the only ones I can think of that can give you any kind of challenge would be some truly high tier Mega level Digimon."_ Naruto told his comrade. He then stepped up getting Ankylomon's attention. "Hey spiky, I'll be your opponent." Naruto said much to Ankylomon's amusement.

"Ha you plan to fight me, you're not even worth my time, you're just a pathetic human you can't possibly hope to hurt me." the heavily armored Digimon said arrogantly.

Naruto for his part just smirked before deciding to make the first move, he attacked the saurian Digimon head on faster than Ankylomon could see and punched him right in the face. Ankylomon was shot back and crashed through several trees before coming to a stop. While not nearly as proficient as Tsunade or Sakura, Naruto knew how to enhance his physical strength with chakra. It also helps you not break your hand when punching hard headed bastards in the face like that, though the two women had already trained their fists for that long before they started using that technique. After all Naruto and Jiraiya were their favorite punching bags.

Falcomon for his part was just staring at the feat his tamer just accomplished, but when he saw the look in Naruto's eyes he just knew his tamer hasn't even begun to warm up. Once Ankylomon was done seeing stars circle his head he quickly stood up and glared at the human with all of his anger. He wasted no time charging the human and swung his deadly tail at him, "Tail Hammer!"

Naruto just jumped out of the way and landed an axe kick at the exposed part of the back of Ankylomon's neck sending him crashing face first in the dirt. "Come on you spiky bastard, I'm not even warming up yet." Naruto said angering the large yellow Digimon further.

"THAT'S IT!" Ankylomon shouted before jumping remarkably high for someone his size, "MEGATON PRESS!" Ankylomon came falling back down on Naruto like a meteor fully intending to crush the blonde underneath him. Naruto just jumped back out of the way but as soon as Ankylomon hit the ground he rushed Naruto, though not very fast due to his sheer size and bulk, he began swinging his tail wildly hoping to hit the obnoxious blonde bastard. Naruto however managed to put an end to Ankylomon's berserker charge with a quick kick to the face. "JUST WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" shouted the enraged Digimon.

Naruto for his part just smirked, "I'm glad that you asked." Naruto said as he decided to take a page from Ero-Sennin's book, and no not that book, yeah that's right I know what your all thinking. "I'm the great Toad Sage that has won many battles and the hearts of many women, my enemies fear me, others worship me. I'm the King of the Battlefield and Pranks, I am none other than the one the only Naruto U-zu-ma-ki-sama!" Naruto said as he did a little kabuki dance along with it.

Falcomon for his part just sweat dropped at Naruto's actions while Ankylomon just got more pissed believing that Naruto wasn't taking him seriously. **"I seriously can't believe you just did that. You just had to go and imitate that pervert teacher of yours didn't you?"** Kurama asked face palming at his containers homage to his late teacher.

Naruto just ignored the fox in his head, opting to focus on his opponent in front of him. "So spiky are we gonna finish this or not?" Naruto asked. Ankylomon just lost all sense of self control and gave into his anger, blindly charging the blonde. Naruto just made his favorite hand sign before shouting, "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" At that precise moment four clones appeared in a straight line. Naruto then held out his hand as he began gathering chakra for his signature technique. The four clones ran off ahead of Naruto and managed to all land kicks underneath Ankylomon's chin sending him straight up into the air, where he soon met the original, "Naruto Uzumaki Rasengan Rendan!" Naruto called out his attack as he drove his Rasengan into Ankylomon's face sending him straight back down to the ground exploding in particles of data along the way. Naruto just landed on the ground as his clones were dispelling themselves. "Ah now that was refreshing, I needed that." Naruto said as he looked back towards his Digimon partner.

Falcomon just couldn't grasp what he just saw, his tamer, a human none the less, managed to take down a Champion level Digimon like it was child's play. He remembers Fanglongmon-sama saying that his tamer could probably take on most Mega level Digimon but Falcomon was still skeptical about that. Now though after seeing only a glimpse of his tamer's power erased all doubt in his mind. "Hey Falcomon, you in there, snap out of it man come on I wanna go home so I can get some sleep." Naruto said waving his hand in front of Falcomon's face trying to get his attention.

"Oh yeah sure Naruto lets go. By the way that was awesome." Falcomon told his tamer.

Naruto just smiled, "Of course it was awesome, I'm awesome so anything I do is awesome by default." Naruto said.

They were about to leave however the arrival of two more figures stopped them from doing so, "The Digimon should be right here." said a feminine voice that Naruto immediately recognized.

"Hey Rika-chan, Renamon nice to see you finally made it." Naruto said getting the attention of the two females.

"Whiskers, when did you get here?" she asked but quickly decided that wasn't important, "Never mind that where is the Digimon?" Rika asked preparing for a fight.

"Oh the Digimon, I'm sorry to say Rika-chan but your too late, I already took care of it." Naruto said much to Rika's displeasure.

"We missed it, damn it and this was a particularly strong signal. It could've been just what Renamon needed to Digivolve." Rika said venting her frustration.

"Yeah well maybe next time you should be a little bit faster Rika-chan." Naruto teased.

Rika just glared at the blonde not really having a come back to that, and that annoyed her more than missing out on fighting the Digimon. Ever since they had their first battle of wits at Rika's door to her house they've been having a competition about who could outwit the other in a battle of words. And right now Naruto was in the lead and Rika couldn't stand that. "Whatever, I'm going home. Let's go Renamon." Rika said as she made her way back home.

"Well I guess we should get home as well." Naruto said as he and Falcomon left the area planning to hit the sack as soon as they get home.

(The Next Day)

Rika was currently listening to her drone on about something she really couldn't care less about. It was so bad it nearly made her fall asleep. Thanks too Rika's mother's success as a model and how wealthy her family is, she attends a girls only public school and she couldn't hate it any more if she tried. Just about all of the girls in her school were just like her only friend said rich people were like, they were shallow, snobbish bitches and all they cared about was boys, fashion and the latest gossip, and because Rika was so different she was ostracized by all of her peers. Though it wasn't like she really wanted to have any part in their social circles and was just fine with being ignored, however as of recently she began wishing she was in the local public school just so she could be around a certain blonde more often.

However she quickly banished those thoughts from her head, today was a special day for her school as they allowed all of the parents to come and join their daughters' classes to see what they went through on a daily basis. And it was one of the few times that Rika actually got to see her mother, Rumiko Nonaka. She tilted her pencil case which had a built in mirror for whatever reason and saw her mother wave at her. However the class was interrupted as Rumiko's cell phone went off and she quickly stepped outside to answer the call. Rika didn't see her mother for the rest of the day, _Typical_. Thought Rika as she slammed her pencil case shut.

(After School)

Rika was exiting the gates to her school when she saw a certain blonde approach her, "Hey Rika-chan what's up." Naruto said drawing a lot of attention to them.

"Whiskers, what are you doing here?" Rika asked confused about this since Naruto has never showed up at her school before. She didn't even know he knew where she went to school.

"What is your best friend not allowed to walk you home?" Naruto asked getting a blush out of Rika for having to deal with his antics in front everyone she goes to school with. Naruto however took a good look around and noticed a lot of the girls were looking them as if the sight before them was strange but an even larger percent was staring at him with lust filled eyes. Being the first boy in their age group that the majority considered to be very handsome or cute made them a bit quick to try and want to hook up with him. "Uh Rika-chan, why are they all looking at us like that?"

After hearing the blonde's question she quickly looked around and noticed the looks they were giving them, or more specifically Naruto. Most of the girls were looking at him like a piece of meat and for some unexplained reason that pissed her off immensely. She even heard some of the girls whispering, wondering about 'how the Ice bitch knew a cutie like him.' Not being able to take standing around there for a second longer she grabbed Naruto's wrist and began dragging him away from her school. "Let's go." she said through her teeth.

Poor Naruto was just confused at what just happened. "Uh Rika-chan, are you ok?"

"I'm fine Naruto. It's just been a stressful day at school." Rika said trying to cover up her anger.

Naruto didn't believe her for a second, the fact that she said his name instead of the nickname she normally uses when referring to him made it obvious. However he decided he wasn't going to push the issue on this one. "I'll just take your word for it." Naruto told her. "But Rika-chan do you mind letting go I think you're cutting off the blood circulation in my hand?" Naruto asked her.

It was at this point that Rika stopped stomping through Shinjuku and realized that she was holding onto Naruto's wrist pretty tight as if she let go he'd disappear, it took her a second but she managed to release her hold on the blonde and looked up to him, "S-Sorry about that, I just couldn't stand being around those bitches I go to school with."

Naruto just gave her a reassuring smile as he rubbed his wrist, "It's fine don't worry about it, I can understand that sometimes other people can just drive us crazy, I mean look at you and me. I make you crazy about me just by standing next to you." Naruto said causing the redhead to blush.

"I'm not crazy about you, you blonde baka. You just happen to drive me crazier than anyone else!" Rika all but yelled at the blonde.

"So you admit it than, you do love me, why I'm touched Rika-chan." Naruto continued to tease the girl.

Rika quickly thought back on what she said and blushed even harder than before. "N-No that's not what I meant. I meant that you just piss me off more than anyone else I know." Rika said trying to correct what she said earlier.

"Ah its okay Rika-chan, I know that you have a hard time saying it but you can't hide it from me. I know deep down your madly in love with me. But I don't blame you after all who wouldn't be?" Naruto continued, having way too much fun with this. Rika's face was doing a very good impression of a very ripe tomato. She realized that there was just no way she was winning this battle, so she took her loss and started walking home.

"Oi Rika-chan, wait up. Don't leave your best friend behind like that." Naruto said as he ran to catch up to her.

It took Naruto a while but he managed to get her talking to him again, "So Whiskers, you planning on coming over to get your butt kicked again." Rika said challengingly, but there was hint of pleading in her voice that Naruto didn't miss. Sadly however he couldn't today, he had a lot of training he's needed to catch up on. He's been slacking way too much in his own personal training since he was so focused on Falcomon's.

"Sorry Rika-chan, I can't today. I've got too much stuff that needs to get done not to mention my homework." Naruto told her, the homework bit was a lie since he could easily have shadow clones do it but he decided to throw that in there so it didn't look like he was just ditching her.

Rika looked a little down trodden at that news but understood that everyone has certain priorities, "I see so is that why you came to my school today so we'd hang out for at least a little bit?" she asked.

"Yup, I can't let you go a day without seeing this handsome face. You might just go insane if you didn't get your daily dose of awesome from yours truly." Naruto joked.

Rika did her best to suppress her laughter, but it came out in a very unladylike snort but she quickly rolled with it, "Yeah right, I guess it'd be too much to ask to simply have a day of peace and quiet since that seems to be a rarity around you." Rika jabbed at the blonde.

"Of course it is, that shit's boring anyways." Naruto said rolling with the punches. The two continued their banter all the way back to Rika's house. Rika managed to chalk up a few victories in their battle of wits on the way tying them up. "Well Rika-chan, I better get going. Say hi to your grandmother for me."

"Yeah I'll see you later Whiskers." Rika said with the ghost of a smile appearing on her face. With their good-byes said for now Naruto made his way home to collect Falcomon and get his clones started on his home work. Naruto was secretly thanking Tobirama Senju, the Nidaime Hokage, for creating this miracle of a jutsu. Rika turned to enter her house and with Naruto gone immediately put her mask back on. "Hey Grandma I'm home." Rika called out letting her grandmother know she's home.

"Hello dear how was your day?" Seiko asked her granddaughter.

"It was fine I guess, mom got a phone call and left during one of my classes." Rika said, getting a disapproving look from Seiko about her daughter's actions. However she quickly covered that up. "Oh and Whiskers says 'hi'."

Seiko immediately brightened up at the mention of the boy who managed to befriend her granddaughter. Naruto has done so much to help Rika break out of her shell that Seiko doubted she could ever repay the debt she owes the blonde. "Oh I'm guessing Naruto-kun walked you home?" the older woman asked her granddaughter.

"Yeah, though he said he couldn't stay since he has a lot of homework that he has to do." Rika told her grandmother.

"Ah that's too bad, but I guess it's good that he's focused on getting good grades." said the older woman, she really did care for that boy and was glad that he knew that school was important. It was at this point that Rika decided to head off to her room to get changed out of her uniform. It was when she got there that she noticed her D-Ark going off telling her that there was a Digimon Bio-Merging. Rika hurried up to get changed so she could get there as soon as possible. Her conversation with Naruto last night reminding her to be faster, "I'm going out Grandma." Rika told her as she ran past her.

"But you just got home, oh well just be sure to be home before dinner." Seiko told her.

"Sure thing, what are we having tonight anyways?" Rika asked.

"My special eggplant and liver casserole." Seiko responded.

"Terrific." Rika muttered sarcastically under her breath so her grandmother wouldn't hear her. She quickly ran out of her house and was pleased to know that she was the first one to get to the Digital Field. _Hah, take that I beat you this time Whiskers._ Rika thought to herself as she pulled out her D-Ark to scan her and Renamon's next opponent. "Let's see Allomon, an Armor class Dinosaur Digimon. His attacks are Dino-Burst and Dynamite Head. Nothing Renamon can't handle." Rika said confidently, she then looked up, "Walk all over him."

Renamon decided to take the first move and launched her signature attack, "Diamond Storm!" The deadly attack rained down on the blue dinosaur but it just bounced off his skin doing minimal damage at best. _You know I'm getting tired of these Dinosaur types having such thick skin._ Rika thought to herself. Renamon's thoughts were along the same line really getting tired of that attack not working.

Allomon however decided that he wouldn't give them a chance to try something else. "Dynamite Head!" he shouted as he charged at Renamon planning to ram into her with his head, ok that just came out wrong. Renamon jumped over the charging dino but took a direct hit from his tail.

Rika for her part knew that she need to do something so she went to her trusty modify cards, "Digi-Modify…Agumon's Frozen Wind Activate!" Rika said swiping the card through her D-Ark.

Renamon felt the power course through her and jumped in the air, "Frozen Wind!" she called out unleashing a blizzard on the Jurassic Digimon. However Allomon wasn't going to just sit there and take it, he unleashed his own Dino Burst attack and a jet of fire escaped his mouth. The two attacks clashed mid-way and they seemed to be even for a bit but then Allomon started gaining ground and soon overpowered Renamon's attack getting a direct hit on her too boot. He was about to finish her off, but was interrupted by a red fire ball and green miniature tornado.

"Great what are you two doing here?" Rika snapped at the newcomers who happened to be Henry and Takato with their respective partners.

"We came to put a stop to Allomon and apparently saved your partner in the process, a little gratitude would be nice." Henry shot back at the redhead.

"Renamon and I don't need your help." Rika told the blue haired tamer as she pulled out another card. "Digi-Modify…Hyper Chip Activate!"

With the power of another card running through her, Renamon stood up and walked past Guilmon and Terriermon, "You shouldn't have come." she told them.

"Why not?" asked the naïve red raptor.

Renamon for her part just ignored him and continued her approach towards Allomon. Allomon then unleashed his Dino Burst again and Renamon just lazily raised her paw and said "Frozen Wind!" At first it looked like the attack was just barely holding Allomon's back but that quickly changed in an instant when Renamon just completely overpowered Allomon and froze him in a block of ice. Once frozen she jumped up and used her Diamond Storm attack and this time managing to defeat her opponent. Once Allomon was gone and nothing but particles of data Renamon wasted little time to download his data, getting stronger in the process.

With the fight over Rika was about to make her way home when she was stopped by Takato, "Rika hold up a sec will ya."

Rika stopped and turned to face him, "What do you want Goggle-head, gonna lecture me on my treatment of Digimon and that there not just data?" Rika asked him coldly.

Takato flinched at the sharp words she used to mock him, "No, I wanted to apologize for what I said back during the Vilemon incident. I was out of line. So I'm sorry." Takato told her, shocking Rika that he was actually apologizing.

"Whiskers talked to you both after I left didn't he." It wasn't a question, she knew that if Takato was apologizing then Naruto must have said something to them. She got a nod from both boys confirming what she knew, "What did he tell you?" she asked with a serious edge in her tone.

The two boys gulped in fear as this girl can be really intimidating when she wanted to be, "He didn't tell us much, just that you've been through a lot and don't need more thrown on top of everything else you're already dealing with." Henry answered.

"I see, well if that's all you guys wanted to talk about then I'm leaving." Rika said as she walked away from them.

Henry and Takato just sighed in relief that Rika didn't try to kick their asses, "That girl needs to lighten up." Terriermon said voicing his own thoughts about the girl.

"I know what you mean Terriermon but there isn't much we can do for her. Naruto's doing his best to get her to open up but from what I saw, he isn't making too much progress." Henry said.

"You're wrong." came the surprising voice of Renamon. They thought she left along with Rika.

"What do you mean Renamon?" Takato asked.

"What I'm saying is that the Rika you saw is a different person from the Rika that she becomes when around Naruto. Naruto has somehow managed to bypass the emotional barriers around her heart, however she will only open up too him. He is the only one that she trusts to the extent that she does. Rika doesn't even open up to her own family as much as she does to Naruto, not even me." Renamon said shocking the three there that actually understood what was going on, poor Guilmon was so confused.

"Wow, I had no idea." Takato said, amazed that Naruto has made as much progress that he has, even if she is only open to him exclusively. With her piece said Renamon disappeared to go rest up from her last fight.

(Later that Night)

Renamon was currently mulling over everything that's happened recently. She's been defeating Digimon one after another but she has yet to Digivolve. But that wasn't what was mainly concerning her, it was her current relationship with her tamer. Rika did her best to keep her at arm's length and not get any closer to her besides just being Digimon and Tamer. It was basically that they only worked together for a common goal but only out of convenience, not as a team. She's been with the girl for about a year already and still hasn't gotten any closer to her or gotten Rika to trust her all that much. But then Naruto just comes in out of nowhere and in a little more than a month Naruto is her one and only friend and Renamon would be lying if she said that she wasn't a little jealous of the blonde. It was then that her thoughts were interrupted, "Well ain't it just sad to see a beautiful dame like yourself moping around because of that no good tamer of yours."

Renamon quickly hopped to her feet and began looking for the source of the voice only to quickly find a small purple Digimon lying down on an overhead street lamp. "Oh and who might you be." asked Renamon.

"The name's Impmon toots, and I'm here to tell ya you need to ditch that worthless tamer of yours, going around telling you what you can do and what you can't do like a slave is enough to make me puke. Ba Boom!" the short Digimon said.

"I'm not her slave, Rika and I are partners." Renamon told Impmon but she too was having a hard time believing it.

"Partners eh, sure don't look like it toots. The way she treats you isn't how most treat their partners. Admit it deep down you want to be just like me." Impmon said.

"Oh and just what exactly are you?" asked a third voice surprising the two Digimon. They looked down to see a mop of gravity defying blonde hair, Naruto just looked up to them and said, "Yo."

"Oi who are you to be eavesdropping on our conversation?" asked an irritated Impmon.

"Name's Naruto, and I'm Rika-chan's best friend and so as her best friend I'd like to hear what is being said behind her back." Naruto said.

"You see toots this is what I'm talking about, you're supposed to be her partner but she just treats you like dirt while this guy just rolls right on in and becomes her best friend." Impmon said

"While you make a good point Impmon, there is still a lot you don't know about Rika-chan. So you have no right to be passing judgment about her when you know nothing about who she is. However the same cannot be said for Renamon here. She's been around Rika-chan for about a year and I'm willing to bet that she knows just as much if not more about her than I do. I'm just the first person who knew how to break down her emotional barriers." Naruto said as he gave a meaningful glance towards Renamon. Renamon however was surprised by the blonde's words. She figured that since Rika opened up to him more, quicker than she ever did with her, Renamon figured that Naruto knew her better.

"Pfft whatever, I'm outta here. Word of advice toots, don't let your tamer keep kicking you around." Impmon said as he hopped off.

Renamon than just looked down at the blonde, "How'd you do it?" she asked.

Naruto looked up to the digital fox and asked, "How'd I do what?" Naruto already knew, he just wanted to hear Renamon say it.

"How'd you get her to open up to you so quickly? You haven't even known her for half the time I have and yet you got her to open up to you." Renamon asked.

Naruto just ran his hand through his blonde locks, "There are a couple of reasons why I was able to do it much faster than you did Renamon. I'm sure you overheard me telling Rika and her grandmother about my past and how I had life growing up." Naruto said getting a nod from the yellow kitsune, "Well you see a part of the reason I was able to get her to open up to me is because I understand her. Now I don't know your past and I won't ask but I'm betting that you can't relate to her on that level making it hard for her to accept you into her heart. Another thing is your personality, Rika is a stubborn girl and you need to be just stubborn of even more so if you're gonna get anything through her head, and unfortunately that just isn't you. And the final reason is because of your position, you are the Digimon and she is the Tamer, and I hate to say it but Impmon was partially right about her. However she doesn't see you as a slave, she's basically treating this as if she was an employer and you were her employee. I on the other hand am just another tamer that is the same age as her, and she has no authority over me meaning I can do and say whatever I want. However I know that deep down she does consider you her friend. She just doesn't realize it yet." Naruto said surprising the fox that he believes Rika sees her as a friend.

"I see, but how can you be so sure of that, and how do I get her to open up to me?" Renamon asked.

"The reason I'm so sure of it is because I have faith in Rika, as I'm sure you know she's not a bad person, she's just been dealt a bad hand in life. As for how to get her to open up to you, you just simply need to prove to her that she can trust you to not leave her. That is Rika's biggest fear. She doesn't want to see the people she grows close to too disappear on her." Naruto told her.

Renamon looked at the blonde and for some reason he just looked older than he should be to her, "I see, thank you Naruto. I believe you've really helped me understand Rika better." Renamon said to the blonde.

Naruto just smiled up to the digital fox, "Don't mention it Renamon. But do me a favor and don't mention this conversation to Rika-chan." Renamon nodded, promising to keep this their little secret. It was then that she sensed the presence of a Digimon Bio-Merging. Naruto was aware of it too since his D-Ark went off a second later. Renamon didn't bother sparing a glance at the blonde before she took off in the direction of the newly arriving Digimon. Naruto however was conflicted, if he went home to get Falcomon then he'd be running in the opposite direction and Rika and Renamon may need his help before he can get there. So he decided that he'd have to solo this one and hope Renamon and Rika can handle this without his help.

(The Digital Field)

By the time Rika got there she found Renamon already fighting. She soon found out the Digimon they were up against was Dokugumon, a Champion spider like Digimon. "Looks like we finally found a worthy opponent Renamon." Rika said excited about this upcoming fight.

Meanwhile Naruto was hiding in the foliage hoping that Rika wouldn't underestimate her foe. Renamon decided to kick things off by attacking head on with her Power Paw. Dokugumon though managed to hop over to another web and attacked with her Venom Blast attack. Renamon dodged the toxic fumes and unleashed her Diamond Storm attack hitting Dokugumon and destroying the webs she was standing on. Although it was a direct hit it wasn't enough to put down the ugly ass Digimon. "That's it keep it up Renamon." Rika said from the sidelines waiting to see if she needed to get involved.

Everything seemed to be going in there favor but that was when Dokugumon decided to stop playing around and get serious. "Spider Thread!" she shouted shooting out new webs that entangled Renamon. "Hehe not so agile now are you?" the spider taunted before turning to Rika and ensnaring her Spider Thread.

Naruto was currently cursing the situation seeing as that he might need to get involved. However Renamon impressed him when Dokugumon went to attack Rika, Renamon used her Diamond Storm to fake out Dokugumon and cut Rika free. "Rika run!" Renamon shouted wanting her tamer to get to safety.

However Rika would have none of it, "I'm not going anywhere, Digi-Modify…Snimon's Twin Sickles Activate."

Renamon's paws turned into giant scythes and she managed to cut herself free, "Time to cut loose."

_Lame/__**Lame**_ both Naruto and Kurama thought at the same time. Anyways Renamon attacked with a barrage of Twin Sickle attacks hoping to take down her foe. However Dokugumon's was resilient. Having enough of this Dokugumon changed her target and fired off her Venom Blast attack at Rika. "Rika no!" Renamon shouted before jumping in the way of the attack taking the full force of the attack.

"Renamon!" Rika shouted, surprised at the length she'd go to protect her. Renamon soon collapsed to the ground unable to continue fighting.

Dokugumon decided it was time to end this and was closing in on them finish it however she stopped by the cry of "Dynamic Entry!" shouted Naruto as he kicked Dokugumon right in the eye. Causing the spider to scream and thrash about in pain. "Oh yeah I've always wanted to do that." Naruto said.

"Whiskers, what are you doing here, and where's Falcomon?" Rika asked.

"I'm sorry Rika-chan, I didn't have time to get him. It's just me." Naruto said.

"No." Rika said as she fell to her knees and began fearing the worst.

"N-Naruto, please…take Rika…away from…this place." Renamon begged knowing she won't last much longer.

"What Renamon, what are you saying? If we leave you here you'll just get destroyed by Dokugumon." Rika said as she began to tear up at what Renamon was suggesting.

"I'm…sorry Rika…but I'm not…not going to make it." Renamon said barely above a whisper.

"No… you can't, you can't leave me please Renamon, don't go." Rika said going into full blown tears.

"If there…is one thing…I'm happy about…it's that I…finally got to see…the real you…good-bye Rika." Renamon said as her eyes closed.

"No, no NO RENAMON!" Rika cried out and immediately a bright light came from her D-Ark.

DIGIVOLUTION

"Renamon Digivolve Too…Kyuubimon!"

_Kyuubimon/__**Kyuubimon**_ where the exact same surprised thoughts of both Naruto and Kurama. **"Heh, who'd a guessed."** Kurama said with a grin on his face.

_"__I know right, let's see if she lives up to her name sake."_ Naruto said to his companion.

"She Digivolved, but how?" Rika asked no one in particular.

"Time for some payback." Kyuubimon said as she fanned out her nine tails, "Fox-Tail Inferno!" she shouted as the tips of her tails lit up in a ghostly blue fire. She launched the nine fireballs at Dokugumon each one hitting the spider and catching the webs on fire at the same time limiting Dokugumon's movements. Kyuubimon quickly jumped up and began rolling up into a ball, "Dragon Wheel!" she called out getting another clean hit with a ghostly blue flaming dragon, destroying Dokugumon and absorbing her data.

With the threat gone Kyuubimon turned to face her tamer as Rika slowly walked up to her, "You did it, you finally managed to Digivolve." Rika said

"Yes and it was all thanks to you Rika." Kyuubimon said confusing the redhead.

"Me, what did I do?" she asked.

"You finally opened up to me and weren't afraid to show how much you really cared about me. Like a true friend." Kyuubimon said, sending Naruto a look thanking him for talking to her and for being right.

"A true friend huh." Rika said aloud before smiling and hugging Kyuubimon, "Do me a favor and don't tell."

Naruto just smiled at the scene in front of him, Rika had finally opened up to Renamon. "Hey Rika-chan now that you've admitted that Kyuubimon is your friend, what about me. I'm feeling left out over here." Naruto said teasing her a bit as he walked up to her, "So you still have yet to answer my question, are we friends?" Naruto asked as he held up his fist.

Rika just looked between Naruto's face and his fist before understanding what it meant she slowly raised up her hand and bump fists with him, "Yeah we're friends."

XXX

**A/N: That's chapter six for you all. I really loved this chapter, and I think it turned out great. Let me know what you think. Now if you excuse me I need to be heading off to work.**


	7. Pecking Order

**A Shinobi A Long Way from Home**

_Chapter VII_

_Pecking Order_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Digimon

XXX

It has been two days since the battle with Dokugumon and Naruto couldn't be happier with Rika's progress. Now not only does she actually talk to him but Renamon as well. And ever since Rika opened up to her, the two of them have been hitting it off. However Naruto could also see that Rika was beginning to feel conflicted about her thoughts about Digimon. Naruto knew this was something she'd have learn for herself, and once she realizes what she's been doing he will be there to help run any damage control that might be necessary.

Naruto was currently walking through the market district when he caught the scent of something delicious. Followed the scent and found that it came from a bakery that was curiously named 'Matsuki Bakery', _Matsuki huh, that's interesting. Well let's go see what they have._ Naruto thought as he entered the store and low and behold he found Takato behind the cash register ringing up a customer. "Hey Takato what's up." Naruto said getting the boy's attention.

"Oh hey Naruto, what brings you here?" Takato asked.

"I was just walking around when I saw this bakery that had your name on it so I decided to check it out. So what does your family own this place?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, didn't I tell about that?" Takato asked not sure if he mentioned to the blonde or not.

"No I don't think you ever did." Naruto said thinking back to see if he could remember Takato telling him that.

"Huh, that's weird. Whatever it's not like it's that important and now you know." Takato shrugged.

"Yeah, anyways is this how you're able to feed that bottomless pit of a partner of yours?" Naruto asked, he's seen how much Guilmon can eat and he was wondering how Takato paid for it all.

"Yeah, I basically bring him everything that doesn't sell and is passed the regulation expiration date set by the FSS or Food Safety Survey. Basically Guilmon is our unofficial garbage disposal." Takato joked.

Naruto laughed a bit at Takato's joke and how Guilmon got his food. "That's pretty funny, I guess it's also a good thing that all of that food isn't going to waste."

"Yeah, I hate wasting food. It makes me feel like we take what we have for granted since I know there are kids out there in other countries that are lucky to find a week old loaf of bread and that would be their only meal they had for a few days." Takato said, feeling sorry for the starving children of less fortunate families.

"I know how they feel." Naruto said under his breath so that Takato wouldn't hear him, but he did however Takato decided not to ask about it.

It was then that Takato's mother stepped out of the back room, "Oh hello, is there something I can help with?"

The two boys turned their attention to the older woman, "Oh no I'm fine I was just talking with Takato here." Naruto said.

"Oh are you a friend of his by chance?" she asked.

Takato decided to answer for Naruto instead, "Let me introduce you, Mom this is Naruto Uzumaki, a friend from school. And Naruto this is my mother, Yoshie Matsuki."

"A pleasure to meet you Naruto-san." Takato's mother said with a polite bow.

"You as well Matsuki-san." Naruto said returning the bow.

"By the way Takato your father needs some help lifting something so go and give him a hand." Yoshie told her son who quickly nodded and went to go help his dad. With Naruto's curiosity satisfied he decided to buy a couple of things before heading out.

(Later at Naruto's Apartment)

"Hey Falcomon I'm back." Naruto said has he walked into his apartment.

"Thank god I thought I was gonna die of starvation." Falcomon said as he greeted his tamer.

"I swear you Digimon and your food. Can you even go four hours without once complaining of hunger?" Naruto asked in a joking manner.

"Oh like you have room to talk ramen boy, I've seen how you crave that stuff. You're just as bad as Guilmon is when it comes down to his bread." Falcomon said.

**"****He's got you there kit."** Kurama said deciding to throw in his own two cents.

_"__Ignoring the peanut gallery."_ was all Naruto told his tenant before cutting the mental link before Kurama could go on a rant of how he was the Kyuubi, the strongest of all nine biju and how just one of his tails could crush a mountain and yadda yadda yadda and whatever else he said beyond that point since Naruto would've tuned him out at that point. Naruto turned his focus onto his feathered friend, "Oi don't go dissing ramen, ramen is the food of the gods and it was meant to be worshiped by all. The only thing that matches ramen in divinity and holiness is our savior the log. The log is our divine protector while ramen fills us with its holiness." Naruto began preaching.

"Oh my god not this again, I get it already, now can you please make me something to eat before you go praying to your log and ramen that you have built a shrine too in your room?" Falcomon said not wanting to hear his tamer go on another one of his long ass rants about 'The Holy Two' as he calls them.

Naruto just scoffed at Falcomon's disregard of The Holy Two. Now he'd have to pray for twice as long tonight begging them to forgive his naïve and ignorant friend. "Fine." was all he said as he made his way to the kitchen deciding to try out one of Seiko-san's recipes. It took him about an hour to get dinner ready when it was both him and Falcomon sat down to eat.

"Man this is really good." Falcomon said as he stuffed his feathered face.

"The compliment should go to Seiko-san, she gave me the recipe for this." Naruto said as he took another bite.

"You mean your girlfriend's grandmother." Falcomon teased.

Naruto's face turned a little red at that, "How many times do I have to tell you Falcomon, we're just friends." Naruto practically shouted.

"Yeah that may be true but you want her to be your girlfriend." Falcomon said, enjoying messing with his tamer so much.

Naruto had no comeback to that, he would gladly admit to anyone that he thought Rika was a very beautiful girl and would only get more beautiful as she grew older. A small part of him envied her future boyfriend, because once he gets her to open up she'll be having every guy in Shinjuku at her beck and call. But turning back to the conversation at hand Naruto just glared at his partner, "You know sometimes, there are days where I hate you so much." Naruto said.

"I know." Falcomon said with a happy tone, glad he managed to get a one up on Naruto. "By the way this bread that you brought home is delicious, where did you get it?" he asked.

With the topic of discussion changing Naruto forgot about his occasional hatred of Falcomon and decided to answer him, "Oh well apparently Takato's family owns a bakery and I got it from there." Naruto said.

"Well I guess that explains why Guilmon loves bread so much." Falcomon thought out loud.

"Yeah Takato says that he's their unofficial garbage disposal since anything that doesn't sell and expires he gives to Guilmon." Naruto said getting a laugh out of Falcomon. The two continued with some casual conversation and passed a few jokes between them. When they finished dinner Naruto made a couple of clones to take care of the dishes while he and Falcomon set out for their usual training spot.

"Alright Naruto what are we doing today?" Falcomon asked.

"Well first lets warm up with ten laps around this clearing and then do fifty push-ups and sit-ups, then we'll go from there." Naruto said as he began stretching out his muscles.

Falcomon for his part didn't complain at all, while the clearing was fairly large ten laps wasn't the worst thing he's heard of. Naruto told him of his friend Lee and his sensei Guy and the insane workouts they did. Falcomon couldn't believe there were people who would do a hundred laps around Konoha with boulders strapped to their backs only to follow up with doing 5000 handstand push-ups using only their thumbs. And if they failed any of these tasks they'd just get up and give themselves something harsher to complete. And they did this everyday from sun up to sun down and called it training, Falcomon would prefer to use the term self-induced torture. He can appreciate good honest hard work, but these guys took it to the absolute extreme and beyond. "Alright, well then I'll just wait for you to finish up your stretches." Falcomon said as he sat down.

It only took Naruto a couple more minutes to finish his stretches so they could begin their warm-up. After a good half hour they completed their warm up and felt ready to get to work. "Alright, first Falcomon I want you to build up the strength of your Strike Slash attack by attacking that tree over there." Naruto pointed to a fairly big tree that was three times as wide as Naruto. "Once you break that tree like it was a twig then we'll work on you smashing boulders." Naruto said as if it was a walk in the park. "After about a good hour of that I'll come and get you so we can work on the speed and accuracy of your Ninja Blade attack." Naruto continued.

"Ok, so what are you gonna be doing in the mean time?" Falcomon asked.

"I'm gonna be working on a few wind jutsu, most of my attacks are just way to wide scale and cause way to much damage to the surrounding area. I don't want to have to resort to throwing my Rasen-Shuriken to defeat an enemy only to level an apartment building when some more subtle jutsu that won't cause as much collateral damage, and Kurama is going to teach me a few." Naruto told his partner.

Falcomon understood what his tamer was saying, it'd be hard to keep a low profile when your only method of defeating an enemy is hurling large balls of death at your opponent that take out half a neighborhood upon detonation. "Alright well then I suppose I better get started." Falcomon said as he made his way over too his newest punching bag.

Naruto had to admit that he loved Falcomon's work ethic, no matter how hard he was on the avian Digimon Falcomon never once complained. He just did as he was instructed, trusting Naruto that what he was doing was making him stronger. And when he trained he gave it his all and he was entirely focused on completing his training regiment for the day. Naruto was proud of his friend and glad that they were partners, Naruto couldn't have asked for a better partner. Naruto then decided it was time to begin his own training. _"Alright Kurama, what do you got for me today?"_ Naruto asked.

**"****Well we don't need to start you off with any of the basic wind jutsus since you already created your own S-Rank jutsu. So why don't we go with Futon: Great Breakthrough, a simple one but useful all the same. With enough chakra put into this jutsu you could uproot several large trees like it was nothing."** Kurama said, he told Naruto the proper hand signs and how to perform the jutsu. It took Naruto a few tries but once got the feel for it he began making larger and larger gusts of wind with each attempt.

Naruto kept at it for the hour that Falcomon was tearing into the tree he was assigned too. Falcomon's hands were beginning to hurt after slamming them into a tree so many times but he noticed that he was cutting deeper into the tree with each strike, when the hour was up Naruto called out to his partner, "Hey Falcomon that's enough for now, take a quick break before we move on to the next part of your training." Naruto also decided to take a breather and thought now would be a good time the next step in Falcomon's training, "Alright Falcomon, the next thing were gonna do is I have a bunch of clones out gathering up sticks that we can use for target practice. My clones will then begin throwing them in the air at irregular patterns. All you have to do is try to hit as many as you can before they fall to the ground. If you manage to hit them all then my clones are going to increase the number of targets for you to hit, and we'll keep at this until we run out of targets. Sound good."

"It's nothing complex, I can't wait to get started." Falcomon said ready to continue his training.

"Alright we'll wait five more minutes before getting back to work, so how did it go for you with that tree?" Naruto asked.

"It went well I suppose, I managed to cut about a quarter of the way through the tree with my last attack." Falcomon said hoping it would be to his tamers satisfaction.

"Well I guess that means you're getting stronger and that the training is working." Naruto said with a smile. Falcomon just smiled back. Once break time was over Naruto went to go practice his new jutsu some more while Falcomon worked with Naruto's clones. Falcomon was doing pretty good, usually hitting about eighty percent of his targets, he even managed to hit them all a few times only to try and hit a larger amount. The sticks just kept coming for a good two hours since a few of the clones went and picked up of the ones that Falcomon missed just to reuse them. With this part of Falcomon's training complete for the night both tamer and Digimon finished their night of training with an intense spar. Falcomon did his best to hit his tamer with his Ninja Blade attack but Naruto would just knock them out of the air by using his new jutsu, forcing Falcomon to try and get a bit creative with his shuriken. His pride as a warrior and ninja would not allow him to go home tonight without hitting the blonde once. The spar lasted for another two hours and Falcomon managed to land a punch in the blonde's shoulder much to his pleasure only to take a brutal kick to the side of his face having him bouncing across the field. "Oops sorry about that Falcomon, I didn't mean to kick you that hard." Naruto said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"No that's fine Naruto, these kinds of things happen in a spar. I'm just glad I finally managed to land a hit on you." Falcomon said, proud at his accomplishment.

"Yeah you did manage to land a decent blow, I guess that means I'm gonna have to stop holding back so much during our spars." Naruto said getting a groan out of his friend, but regardless of his words Falcomon was still glad that he managed to hit the elusive blonde and if Naruto is upping his training that can only mean he is getting stronger so it's not so bad. So with their night of training done they headed home to clean up and get some shut eye.

(Unknown Place and Time)

_Hm this blonde character and his partner could turn out to be an interesting challenge once I finally escape this prison. Perhaps a test is in order._

(Next Day)

"So Takato, the D-1 Grand Prix is only a week away, you planning on entering?" Henry asked the Virus type tamer as they waited for class to start.

"Of course I plan on entering, I may not win but it would fun none the less. What about you Henry, are you gonna enter?" Takato asked, excited for the upcoming tournament.

"I thought about it but haven't decided if I am or not." Henry said striking a thinking pose as if he were trying to decide right at that moment.

"Come on you should enter, it'll be fun." Takato said trying to get his friend to join him at the tournament.

"Oh what the hell, sure I'll join. What's the worst that can happen?" Henry said not really thinking about his choice of words.

"Henry let me tell you something, never and I repeat NEVER say those words around me, because around me something is bound to go wrong." Naruto said appearing out of nowhere.

"Wha- Naruto, how did you get here?" Takato asked surprised that the blonde just appears randomly whenever he wants.

"You know Takato its funny you ask that, I was trying this amazing new thing called walking. You should give it try you'd be amazed at how much you get around." Naruto said his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Ok smart ass enough with the sarcasm." Takato said, a little annoyed at the blonde's last statement.

"Hey it's better than being a dumb ass." Naruto said. "Anyways what's this hear about you guys joining some tournament?"

"Oh we were talking about joining the D-1 Grand Prix that I told you about a few weeks back." Takato said deciding to not say anything about Naruto's last comment.

"Oh you mean that Digimon Tournament that Rika-chan won last year right." Naruto said realizing what they were talking about.

"Yeah that one, so are you gonna enter?" the goggle-wearing teen asked.

"I have no choice, Rika-chan is forcing me to go. If I don't go then she won't let me have Seiko-san's cooking and Seiko-san even agreed to follow through with this threat. The price is just too steep if I don't enter." Naruto said, upset that Rika is all but blackmailing him into this tournament.

"Huh, who's Seiko-san?" Henry asked, wondering how this person fit into the problem.

"She's Rika-chan's grandmother and her cooking is fucking amazing. You don't know good food until you've either have had ramen or Seiko-san's food. It's literally that good." Naruto said amazing his two friends. They knew how Naruto practically worshiped ramen and if he said this food was just as good as ramen then it must be as good or better than what Naruto says. It actually made both boys' mouths water a bit just from the thought of it.

"Wow, and considering this is coming from you I'm just gonna have to take your word for it." Takato told the blonde.

"So I gotta ask what probably amounts to a dumb question here, but if Rika is forcing you to go then does that mean she'll be there as well?" Henry asked.

"Yeah, she'll be there. She says that she needs to defend her title, though I don't get why she cares about a title so much." Naruto said with a shrug of his shoulders. "So is there anyone else that we know that is going to be there?"

"Yeah, Kazu and Kenta are both gonna be there." Takato answered his whisker faced friend.

"Those two, they'll barely survive the prelims if they're lucky." Naruto said. Having played both of them and beat them both without really trying.

"What makes you say that?" Takato asked.

"It's the way that they play Takato, Kazu is all power and no defense. His strategies are straight forward and easy to predict. As for Kenta, he doesn't plan ahead and lacks anything all that good in his deck. He has weak cards and falls for simple traps, that's why Kazu beats him all of the time." Henry said answering for the blonde as he too has played them both and noticed their short comings.

"Henry's exactly right Takato, they just aren't ready for the level of game play that will be at this tournament." Naruto said.

"Yeah I see your point." Takato said as he glanced at his two other friends as they talked about taking the tournament by storm. It was at this point that the bell signaling that everyone should be in homeroom rung.

(After School)

After yet another boring ass day of school where all he wanted to do is go to sleep as his teacher just droned on and on about whatever she was teaching. He sure as hell didn't know what she was talking about since he wasn't paying attention half the time. He only learned the shit when his shadow clones were done with his homework and they send back all of the information that they learned. He was told that the Kage Bushin no Jutsu was developed by Tobirama for the purpose of scouting out enemy territory without risking anyone getting hurt, but he knew the truth. This miracle of a jutsu was developed for the sole purpose being able to get important shit done without having to lift a damn finger. This jutsu was a lazy man's best friend. Which made him wonder why Shikamaru never bothered to learn the jutsu, it's just perfect for him.

His thoughts though were soon interrupted by something landing on his head, when he looked up he saw Calumon sitting in his blonde hair smiling down at him, "Hiya, wanna play?"

"Hey Calumon, what's up?" Naruto asked.

"I was looking for someone to play with, while watching humans be silly is fun it gets boring after a while. So will you play with me?" Calumon asked again.

"Sure we can play but you have to promise that what you see me about to do you'll keep a secret. Ok." Naruto said, while not sure if Calumon can keep a secret he doubted that the other tamers will take him seriously if Calumon lets something slip.

"Ok." was Calumon's immediate reply. Naruto just smiled before he entered an alley way so he wouldn't be seen. Once he was sure he was out of everyone's sight he looked up to Calumon before telling him to hold on tight. With the warning given and Naruto feeling Calumon grab a hold of his blonde locks Naruto jumped up to the top of the nearest building and began hopping buildings, using chakra the entire time to increase his speed and help him jump farther. Calumon for his part was having a blast and was laughing like crazy, "Hahahahaha weeeeeeee hahahahahaha go faster Naruto, faster!" shouted Calumon.

Naruto just smirked, "Ok but you asked for it." Naruto said before channeling a little bit of Kurama's chakra through his system, not enough to bring out the chakra cloak but enough to change his eye color and thicken his whisker marks. With this Naruto doubled in speed much to Calumon's enjoyment. They were going so fast that the wind that enter Calumon's mouth pushed his cheeks and lips back like a dog's when they stick their head out the car window. Naruto was unaffected by this thanks to the chakra coursing throughout his entire body. They eventually across a set of train tracks that were held up above the street, Naruto quickly ducked underneath them and ran along the underside of the tracks upside down thanks to the application of chakra. Calumon was just there hanging on to Naruto by his hair, not even resting on the blonde's head. Naruto eventually decided to turn for home but still kept up the speed he was moving at for Calumon's amusement.

However as he got close to home he heard his D-Ark going off. So he stopped to take a look at it, much to Calumon's disappointment, he was having so much fun. "Aw is the ride over?" Calumon asked.

"Sorry Calumon but there is a Digimon Bio-Merging and I need to get there so I can stop it." Naruto said, he noticed that the signal was coming not too far from his apartment complex so there was no point in going to get Falcomon as there'd be no way he didn't sense the arrival of their next opponent and was likely on his way there now.

"Aw and I wanted to play some more." Calumon said, sad that his play time got interrupted.

Naruto didn't like seeing the little guy sad, it just didn't seem to fit him, "Tell you what, you and I will play as much as you want once this fight is over, and I'll even get Falcomon to join us." Naruto said immediately cheering the creampuff up.

"Really, you will?" Calumon asked, excited at the mention of more friends to play with. He got a nod of confirmation from Naruto, "Yay yay yay more friends to play with yay yay yay!" celebrated Calumon.

Naruto chuckled at the little guy's enthusiasm and quickly took off in the direction of the Digital Field. On their way there they ran into Falcomon who was on his way to the Digital Field just as Naruto predicted.

(Digital Field)

Once they arrived at the Digital Field Naruto took off his sunglasses and Calumon hopped off of his head. Naruto pulled out his D-Ark to see what it had to say about their new opponent, "Aquilamon a Champion level Bird Digimon with ferocious attacks, they're called Blast Ring and Grand Horn, looks like we'll have our work cut out for us eh Falcomon." Naruto said with a smirk on his face.

Aquilamon looked at the blonde and his partner, "Are you Naruto Uzumaki?" the giant red eagle asked.

Naruto's curiosity was peaked as it sounds like this Digimon was looking for him in particular, "Who's asking?" Naruto said with his guard up not knowing what to expect.

"My name is Aquilamon and I have been sent here by my master to destroy you." the red eagle said as he spread his massive wings, preparing to attack.

"What! Who sent you?" Falcomon demanded.

"My master's identity is no concern of yours since you will not live to see tomorrow." Aquilamon said.

"Ok bird-brain, if you don't want to tell us who your master is then we're just gonna have to beat out of ya." Naruto said although he was a little concerned, while he had faith in Falcomon he didn't know if he was ready to take on a Champion of Aquilamon's caliber and it's not like he will be able to join the fight since its still mid-afternoon meaning the other tamers are bound to show up eventually.

"Ha, you defeat me. That'll never happen." Aquilamon said arrogantly as he gave a loud screech before taking to the air.

Falcomon quickly took after him ready to beat the ever living crap out of his fellow bird Digimon. "Ninja Blade!" shouted Falcomon as he threw several of his shuriken at the over sized eagle.

Aquilamon just scoffed, "Heh pathetic." Aquilamon just flapped his massive wings and created a small air current that knocked the shuriken out of the air. Aquilamon was then quick to respond with an attack of his own, "Grand Horn!" Aquilamon's horns soon grew larger and glowed a fierce red.

There was no way that Falcomon would be able to dodge this attack unless, "Digi-Modify…Hyper Speed Activate!" that happened. Thanks to Naruto's quick scan of a card Falcomon was fast enough to fly out of the way of the larger birds attack. He quickly tried using another Ninja Blade while Aquilamon's back is turned and unable to knock the shuriken out of the air. However the attack was avoided as Aquilamon preformed an advanced aerial maneuver to get out of the way. "Shit almost hit him." Naruto cursed under his breath.

It was at this point that the other tamers showed up with their Digimon. "Hey look Naruto's already here." Takato said.

"Thanks for point out the obvious Takato." Terriermon said in response to Takato's need of pointing the obvious.

"Terriermon." Henry said in his tone that told Terriermon that his tamer didn't approve of what he just.

"What?!" asked the rabbit, not getting why his tamer can't just understand how much fun it is to use sarcasm.

"Would you idiots shut up and concentrate on the task at hand." Rika scolded immediately shutting them up. "So Whisker's, what's the story?"

"The Digimon's name is Aquilamon, as I'm sure you know from watching season 2 of the show. However he claims that someone sent him here to destroy me and Falcomon." Naruto said drawing the attention of all of those present, and slightly concerning Rika for the safety of her friend. If there is a Digimon out there that wants him dead then she could only hope it wasn't an overly powerful one.

"Well don't you worry Naruto, Guilmon and I will back you up." Takato said reaching for his D-Ark and a card so they could get in on the fight.

"No you will all stay right there, this is mine and Falcomon's fight. I won't accept any help from any of you." Naruto said stopping Takato in his tracks and surprising everyone there, all except for Renamon as she understood what this meant to Naruto.

"Whiskers don't be stupid, let us help you." Rika said, though only Naruto and Renamon could hear the concern and pleading in her voice. Takato, Henry and Terriermon just looked at the girl as if she'd grown another three heads. This was just so unlike the Rika that they've seen up until this point.

"No this is my fight." Naruto said his eyes burning with determination.

Rika was about to push him to let her help him but was stopped by Renamon, "Let him do it Rika, this is a matter of pride." Renamon said getting the attention of everyone there except Naruto as he turned his attention back to the fight and swiped another modify card to help out Falcomon.

"What are you talking about Renamon?" asked Rika.

"Naruto and Falcomon were challenged to fight by Aquilamon with the loser paying the ultimate price. Because of this Naruto and Falcomon would be angry if we interfered in any way since it would be a stain on their honor." Renamon said as she continued to watch Falcomon fight valiantly against the larger bird Digimon.

"Why do they care about it so much, is honor and pride really something worth dying over?" Henry asked not seeing how pride could be something that someone would throw away their life for it.

"To the average person, no it isn't. But to a warrior, their pride is everything. Aquilamon challenged them and he is all alone, with no back up so Naruto and Falcomon will honor his bravery and courage by fighting this alone as well so this way when this is over, they will know who the strongest was. This is about respecting their fellow warrior, even if that warrior is out to kill them." Renamon said.

"But Naruto isn't a warrior, he's a kid just like the rest of us so why should he care so much?" Takato asked wanting nothing more than to go in there and help his friend.

Renamon however just shook her head, "There is a lot we don't know about Naruto. I know that because when I look into his eyes I don't see the light that all of your eyes have. I see the eyes of a warrior, someone who's fought, been to the brink of death and back again, those are the eyes of a warrior and no matter how hard you try you can never hide that from a fellow warrior." Renamon said with admiration in her tone.

All of them there looked at Naruto as he stared out to the fight at hand analyzing everything he saw for some kind of weakness to exploit. _Whiskers, just what have you seen that you never told me?_ Rika thought to herself as she watched the blonde.

_Damn it, we can't seem to land a clean hit on this guy. He's too fast and too agile to get a clean shot in. And Falcomon can't get in to close otherwise it will be harder for him to dodge the bastards Blast Ring attack._ Naruto thought to himself, trying to think of some way he can turn this fight into their favor. However he couldn't take too long, although he's avoided a direct hit Falcomon has still been taking damage from Aquilamon's attacks and Naruto can see that he's getting quite tired.

"Ha, I have to admit you've been more of a challenge then I originally took you for. But you still can't hope to defeat me and once I'm done with you your tamer will be next." Aquilamon said as they took a pause in the action.

Falcomon however began to chuckle, "Heh, you may defeat me but you don't stand a chance against Naruto. If you destroy me I can promise you that you'll be following me very quickly." Falcomon said, since they were high up in the air he wasn't afraid of the others overhearing him.

Aquilamon for his part just burst out laughing, "You can't be serious. There is no way you're tamer can hope to match up to me. He's a human, plain and simple."

Falcomon just continued his pained chuckle, "Heh, you must be pretty stupid to think that you can match Naruto. You're even dumber for coming here and not doing any research on him. He is by far one of the most powerful beings between these two worlds, recognized by Fanglongmon-sama himself. So if you fight him it will be you who meets their end, not him." Falcomon said with not a single trace of doubt in his voice.

"THAT'S IT, I WILL NOT STAND HERE AND LISTEN TO YOU INSULT MY POWER BY SAYING I'M INFERIOR TO A WRETCHED HUMAN! BLAST RING!" Aquilamon shouted getting a direct hit on Falcomon knocking him out of the sky.

"FALCOMON!" shouted Naruto as he ran forward and caught his falling friend. "Hey, Falcomon can you hear me wake up!" Naruto said lightly shaking his dark feathered Digimon. Falcomon slowly opened his eyes before trying to get out Naruto's grasp so he can continue the fight, "Falcomon what are you doing?" Naruto asked already having a pretty good idea as he let him stand up, the bird can be as stubborn as him sometimes.

"I'm gonna finish this fight, I'm still not done yet." Falcomon said in a voice that told Naruto how much pain he's in. Falcomon stumbled towards Aquilamon, grasping his right shoulder in pain and wincing in pain with every step.

"Falcomon, you've done enough. Let me fight him." Naruto said. Naruto would gladly blow his secret to the others if it meant finishing this fight in their victory. He would not ask the others to step in no matter what.

"No, I don't want to rely on you Naruto. I know you could easily take this guy by yourself but I don't want you too. I want to be able stand by your side as your equal and watch your back because I refuse to instead stare at it. So as long as there is a single breath in my body…I WILL FIGHT!" Falcomon said as Naruto's D-Ark began to glow.

Naruto however just stared at his feathered friend and smiled, deeply admiring his determination and fighting spirit. Naruto just raised his fist, "Right, let's do this together…partner." Naruto said as the light from his D-Ark grew stronger.

Falcomon smiled at his tamer as he raised his own fist and bumped it with Naruto's. "Yeah, let's kick his ass." Falcomon said with determination.

DIGIVOLUTION

"Falcomon Digivolve Too…Peckmon!"

"What, he Digivolved." Aquilamon said surprised at this turn of events. Aquilamon realized that it won't be as easy this time. "I see you managed to Digivolve, a congratulations is in order I guess. Too bad it will be short lived."

"I don't think so, this time will be different. This time I'm gonna really kick your ass." Peckmon called out.

While the two Champions were trading words with each other Rika pulled out her D-Ark to see what it had on Peckmon, "Huh let's see here, Peckmon is a Champion level Bird type Digimon, while he's a pretty good flyer he's much faster on the ground thanks to his strong legs. His attacks are Kunai Wing, Spiral Claw and Thousand Beak. Looks like Aquilamon is in for the fight of his life."

"Well let's just hope he's strong enough to take on Aquilamon." Henry said as they all turned their gaze back to the fight.

"Grand Horn!" Aquilamon said as he flew down and intended to impaled the newly Digivolved Champion on his horns. Peckmon though made no attempt of dodging, and when Aquilamon made contact with he passed right trough him as if wasn't even there. "What?!" Aquilamon shouted not understanding what just happened.

"Thousand Beak!" shouted Peckmon as thousands of copies of him appeared around Aquilamon all of them hitting him with their sharp beaks. However they quickly disappeared as the original appeared above the red eagle. "Kunai Wing!" he shouted as he hurled hundreds of kunai at his foe with a great many of them hitting his exposed back. Aquilamon cried out in pain but Peckmon wasn't done, "Spiral Claw!" called out Peckmon from right where he was before and began spinning before driving his sharp talons into the center of Aquilamon's back causing him to crash face first into the ground and exploding into particles of data.

"That was awesome Peckmon!" Naruto shouted as he ran up and hugged his newly Digivolved friend.

"Thanks Naruto, I was pretty awesome wasn't I." Peckmon said feeling very proud of his rise to Champion.

"I think after being around me all of the time my awesome is beginning to wear off on to you." Naruto said.

"Nu-uh that was my own brand of awesome right there, I don't need yours." Peckmon argued with his tamer.

"Hm I guess you're right, if it was my brand of awesome then it would've been a whole lot cooler." Naruto shot back only for Peckmon to perform his name sake and peck Naruto in the head, "Ow, the hell did you do that for?"

"Cause I felt like it." Peckmon said.

The rest of the tamers then decided to come up and congratulate Naruto and Peckmon's recent success. "Congratulations guys for beating Aquilamon and for you reaching the Champion level Peckmon." Takato said as inspected him looking forward to the day when Guilmon finally Digivolves.

"Thanks guys, Aquilamon was a tough customer, but there is no opponent that Peckmon and I can't handle." Naruto said with his fox like grin.

"You can say that again." Peckmon said as he stood tall and proud.

It was then that Calumon made his presence known to the others by landing on Peckmon's head, "Yay, now that the fight is over you can play with me like Naruto promised you would." Calumon said accidently throwing Naruto under the bus.

"What, you're gonna make me play with this inexhaustible ball of energy after all the shit I just went through!" Peckmon shouted glaring at his tamer.

"Uh if it makes you feel any better I was gonna be joining too." Naruto said though that did little to help his situation. Seeing as how Peckmon didn't like his answer he began chasing Naruto all around the clearing they were in trying to peck him in the head, with Calumon laughing the entire time.

XXX

**A/N: Well that's chapter seven. I actually had a lot of fun writing this one. Anyways let me know what you think and I'll keep working hard to get you more chapters.**


	8. A Vanishing Act

**A Shinobi A Long Way from Home**

_Chapter VIII_

_A Vanishing Act_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Digimon

XXX

(Hypnos)

"Did you catch that energy fluctuation?" Tally asked her co-worker.

"I'm already searching for the source?" Riley responded.

"This area sure has seen a lot of activity lately." Tally pointed out, "What do you think is going on?"

"I get the feeling that something big is gonna happen." Riley gave her thoughts on what's happening.

"Like how big?" Tally asked, wondering how bad her friend thought this was gonna get.

"If these readings are correct and I'm positive that they are, were gonna get a level of Bio-Emergences like we've never seen."

(Later that day)

"Wait start over." Henry said to his panicking goggle-wearing friend.

"Ok we were just walking down the street when all of a sudden, I don't know it looked like Guilmon was phasing out of this world. Like he was being rubbed out by a giant malevolent eraser." Takato said trying to give his best description of what he saw.

"Well maybe some of the Digimon can't last long here in our world and get pulled back into their world, or maybe our world eliminates them like the human body does with a virus." Henry theorized.

"What, but he just got here. Guilmon can't leave already." Takato said, not liking Henry's theories.

"Momentai, the world I'm from and the world from are really all the same when you think about it." Terriermon said from his perch on Henry's shoulder.

"Yeah well thanks professor but I want him here in this world." Takato said, annoyed at Terriermon's attempt to be philosophical.

"That may not be possible Takato." Henry said gaining the virus tamer's attention.

"What do you mean, do you know something Henry please tell me." Takato all but demanded, desperate for answers.

"I just know that nothing lasts forever Takato. I'm sorry." Henry said.

"I don't know about that Henry." Naruto said deciding to enter the conversation.

"What do you mean Naruto?" Henry asked, wondering what the blonde had to say on the subject.

"While I agree that not everything can last forever there is just something that isn't right about this. Also there's a major hole in your earlier theory." Naruto said as leaned up against the wall and crossed his arms.

Takato for his part was starting to get some hope back that this might be reversible, "Care to explain?" Henry asked.

"Well the major hole I found in your theory is that both Renamon and Terriermon have been here for way longer than Guilmon, so it would make more sense that they'd be the ones to disappear first. We can also rule out a theory I thought of. You see when Takato first brought this up I began thinking that maybe our negligence to let our Digimon download the data of the one's they defeat is causing them to lose their place here in our world. But we can cross that out since Terriermon has been here for a while and you refuse to let him to download the data of his fallen enemies and yet nothing has happened. So that must mean that there is something else going on around here that we haven't noticed until now?" Naruto said.

"You know you maybe on to something Naruto." Henry said, thinking that a lot of what Naruto said made sense.

"So does that mean you know what's going on Naruto?" Takato asked.

Naruto however just shook his head, "Sorry Takato, but I don't know what could be causing Guilmon to vanish. However I do believe we should try and gather as much information on this as possible so we know how to stop it."

Takato's head dropped as the news, "Oh, well I don't want Guilmon to leave. I don't know what I'd do with myself if he wasn't here anymore." Takato said as a few tears came to his eyes.

Naruto just walked up to the goggle-wearing tamer and put a hand on his shoulder, "I know how you feel Takato. If Falcomon were to disappear I'd probably go insane. He's become like a little brother to me and I treasure the bond we share, and I know you feel the same about Guilmon. Trust me, Takato we'll figure this out, I promise and I never break a promise." Naruto smiled at his brown-haired friend. Takato felt so much better after Naruto's promise and was filled with a sense of hope that he just couldn't describe.

"Thanks Naruto, that makes me feel a lot better." Takato said, thinking that he had the most awesome group of friends anyone could ask for.

"You know Naruto, you really do have a way with words." Henry said, feeling inspired and motivated by the blonde to help Takato resolve this issue.

"Thanks Henry, it's a gift." Naruto said, "Anyways we should probably get to class before Ms. Asaji throws us in detention."

"Yeah, I've already got enough to worry about, I don't need to add being in detention on top of it." Takato said as they took off to get to class.

(After Class)

After he was let out of class he quickly made his way towards Rika's school, glad that he managed to avoid getting detention by seconds otherwise he wouldn't be able to go and annoy his favorite redhead. Luckily his school got out an hour before Rika's so he had time, when he got there he decided to wait by the gate for his friend. It didn't take long for the bell to ring signaling that classes were over for the day. As Naruto was waiting he was unintentionally drawing the attention of a lot of the girls that attend the school. Since they've been seeing him around more often a few of them decided to find out who he is, "Ah excuse me." said one of the girls getting Naruto's attention.

"Yes." Naruto said letting them know they have his attention.

"Well a few of us were wondering who you were since we've seen you hanging around here a few times, if you don't mind." the girl asked.

"I see, but you know it's rude to ask someone else's name before giving your own." Naruto said with his fox like grin.

"Oh that's right, well my name is Yuki and these are my friends Miki, Hanna, and Hitori." the now named Yuki asked.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto said.

"It's nice to meet you as well, anyways do you mind if I ask why you're here from time to time?" Yuki asked.

"Ah well you see I'm waiting for a friend of mine so we can hang out." Naruto told them.

"Do you mean that Nonaka girl?" Yuki asked, looking for more information.

"Yup, I'm her best friend." Naruto answered.

"You're actually friends with her?" she asked kinda surprised that anyone would wanna be friends with the local Ice Bitch.

Naruto quickly dropped his happy demeanor and looked at them with a serious expression, "Yeah Rika-chan is a great friend, is there a problem with that?"

The girl was about to answer but was interrupted by a new voice, "What's going on here?"

The group of five turned to see that Rika was standing there glaring at the four girls, for what reason Naruto couldn't say. "Oh hey Rika-chan, you finally decided to show up." Naruto said giving the girl his fox like smile.

"Yeah I got held up by my teacher, but enough about that, is anyone gonna answer my question?" Rika asked coldly, continuing to glare at the other girls surrounding her friend.

"Oh them, well they were wondering who I was and why I came around so often." Naruto told her, making sure she didn't assume he was doing anything.

Rika's glare quickly intensified, "And what does his presence here have to do with any of you?" Rika spat like acid.

"Look bitch, we weren't doing anything, we were just curious is all. There's nothing wrong with that." Yuki shot back at the redhead.

"Pfft yeah right like I'll believe that." Rika said not believing for a second that any of these girls did anything without an ulterior motive.

"What's the matter, scared to think that the only friend you have might end up leaving you once he sees how unlikeable you are?" Yuki shot back cruelly, unknowingly striking at one of Rika's deepest insecurities.

At this point all Rika could see was red and was fully prepared to murder the bitch in front of her. However before she could take a single step forward she was slung over Naruto's shoulder like a sack of flour. Rika quickly realized her situation and turned red in the face as she began kicking and demanding that Naruto put her down so she can kick the bitch's ass. Naruto however made no notion of even thinking about complying with her demands as he leveled an intense glare at the four other girls in front of him, but mostly the one that had the gall to insult his friend. His glare was terrified the girls as it was on a completely different level then Rika's, he then spoke in cold angry tone that got Rika to stop flailing, "Listen to me and listen good, Rika-chan is my best friend and I won't stand here and listen to you insult her the way that you have. However I'm willing to let you off with a warning, insult her again like that and you'll be dealing with something a lot more terrifying than Rika-chan. That I can promise you, and I never break my promises."

The tone of his voice scared even Rika, and she wasn't even the one that it was directed towards. It just seemed so unlike Naruto, but here he was standing up for her and threatening others that would try to hurt her, no not threatening, promising them that'd he'd bring his wrath down on top of them. What that included Rika couldn't even guess since she doubted that it'd be a prank since that really won't change much. With his piece said Naruto carried Rika off towards the direction of her house. Once they were out of sight of the school Rika remembered one vital piece of information, she's in a skirt and thrown over Naruto's shoulder probably giving the world a very good view of her ass and underwear. She quickly began flailing while holding down the end of her skirt so no one could get a free peek, "Hey Whiskers put me down already, I'm in a skirt you baka." she demanded, leaving no room for argument while her face was bright red.

Naruto was soon reminded of his friend's position and didn't hesitate to put her down, "Sorry about that Rika-chan, I didn't mean to expose you like that." Naruto said hoping she wasn't too mad.

"Oh and how do I know that you didn't, you could've easily tried to get a free peek for yourself." Rika said her face still beat red as she tried to glare at her friend but he just couldn't help but think about how cute she looked.

"Come on Rika-chan give me some credit here, you know that I'm not like that. While I do think you're a very beautiful girl I wouldn't try to intrude on your privacy. I'm happy to admire from a distance." Naruto said with a smile on his face.

_Beautiful, he thinks I'm beautiful._ Rika couldn't help the warm happy feeling that spread through her being at knowing that Naruto thinks she's beautiful. Not to mention that her face got redder as a smile stretched across her face. "Baka." she said but it held none of her annoyance or frustration that it usually had.

They eventually made it back to her house so she could change. When she entered her room she was quickly approached by Renamon, "Rika, the goggle-wearing tamer and his partner are not too far from here."

Rika was surprised, did Whiskers give the other two idiots her address and the goggle-headed one was stalking her. "Go and get their attention, I'll follow you shortly." Rika told her furry partner.

Renamon just nodded and disappeared into thin air allowing Rika the privacy to change. Once she changed into her street clothes she went up to her blonde friend, "You didn't give Goggle-head my address did you?" Rika asked.

Naruto was a little surprised at the question since to him that just came out of nowhere, "No, I haven't given anyone your address. Why?" Naruto asked.

"Renamon just told me that he and his pet dinosaur are not too far from here and are getting closer." Rika said.

"Well don't look at me, it's probably just a coincidence that they ended up in this part of town as I seriously doubt that they know where you live." Naruto said.

"Fine I'll take your word for it, but I'm still heading out to confront them on it." Rika said as she made her way to the front door to her house.

"I'll come too." Naruto said following her out.

They quickly found where Renamon led them too and overheard part of the conversation. "I don't think I have a mommy." Guilmon said before he realized something, "Wait Takatomon's my mommy."

"Aw Guilmon don't call me that." Takato said, however when Naruto heard this immediately fell to the ground laughing his ass off drawing attention to him and Rika. Rika for her part had an amused smirk on her face.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA, Oh my God that is fucking hilarious because it's so true." Naruto said holding his sides in pain as tears ran down his face.

"Rika, Naruto what are you doing here?" asked a now totally embarrassed Takato.

Rika for her part decided to answer since Naruto was still trying to get over his recent fit of hysterical laughing though every time he looked at Takato and Guilmon he'd just start laughing again, oh the things he could make Takato do with this beautiful piece of blackmail. "That's my question Goggle-head, what are you doing following me around. Are you in love with me or something?" Rika asked tauntingly.

Takato quickly denied following her around and for her second accusation. Guilmon looked between the two, confused at what was going on. "Uh are you two going to fight?" he asked.

Takato looked at his partner and then pointed to Rika and himself getting a nod out of the red raptor, "Uh no way, she's a girl and she'd totally kick my ass." Takato said, at least he was honest about it. Rika just smirked that Takato knew who'd win the fight regardless if she was a girl. "You know fighting isn't the only way to settle things." Takato said.

"Spoken like a true coward." Rika said immediately letting them know that she saw him as a coward.

Naruto by this point managed to regain control of himself though every time he looked at Takato and Guilmon an amused smirk spread across his face. But once he heard Rika call Takato a coward for not wanting to resort to fighting he just gave her a look but didn't say anything. Rika saw the look but didn't let anything show for it on her face but was wondering what Naruto thought about it. Her thoughts though were interrupted by the third tamer there, "Look maybe we got off on the wrong foot here. My name is Takato and your Rika right."

"Yeah so what's your point, you writing book about me or are you really in love?" Rika said, doing her best to be difficult about this situation.

Naruto decided that it was time for him to step in, "Stop picking on him Rika-chan, why don't we continue this back at your place." Naruto offered.

The two tamers looked at him with different expressions on their faces, Takato was looking at him in shock while Rika was looking at him with confusion, "And why should I invite him over to my house Whiskers?"

"Because Seiko-san has a plate of cookies in the oven and I hear them calling my name, and I don't want to stand here when I could be there eating them." Naruto said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Rika just sighed, of course her grandmother's cooking was what he was concerned about. Takato just looked at Rika before the question on his mind, "Is he over at your house that often?"

Rika just glanced at the goggle-headed tamer, "He might as well move in and live there. He's over practically every day."

"Really?" Takato asked, surprised that Naruto spends that much time with the girl.

"No joke." she said before saying, "Alright come on let's get the blonde baka back before he goes insane from not getting his fix of my grandmother's food."

"Hey after tasting your grandmother's cooking why would I want to leave. Besides I get to spend more time with you so that's an added bonus." Naruto said.

"Just a bonus, is that all I am?" Rika asked with an edge in her voice. Telling Naruto he'd better choose his next words carefully.

Naruto was internally sweating, knowing that if he said the wrong thing Rika would take his access to Seiko-san's cooking away and that's just cruel. "No of course not Rika-chan, you know I love spending time with you. Between you and your grandmother's cooking it feels like I just got a two for one deal." Naruto said hoping to placate his fiery haired friend.

Rika just smirked, "Hmph good answer." she said before walking off ahead of them glad that she won that one putting her in the lead.

Naruto quickly followed after her leaving Takato behind, _What just happened?_ Takato internally asked himself before taking off after them.

(Back at Rika's house)

"Look I admit I saw you in a dream once and that's what's really bugging me, but I'm not here because of that. I'm here because I have some questions about Digimon." Takato told the girl.

"Alright kid don't get your underwear in a bunch." Rika said.

"What do you mean kid I'm the same age as you and Naruto." Takato said annoyed at being called a kid.

_Not exactly Takato._ Naruto thought to himself since in all actuality he's really seventeen. "I'm calling you kid because you don't know anything about anything. You show up talking about seeing me in a dream don't you have any idea how weird that is." Rika said to the virus type tamer.

"You gotta admit she has a point Takato that is a kinda weird thing to say to someone." Naruto said.

"Yeah I get it, but anyways what I wanted to ask you is that do Digimon just turn back into data and go back to their world?" Takato asked the amethyst eyed girl.

"Of course." was Rika's quick reply.

"Ah I see why you're here, trying to find any info about what happened earlier." Naruto said finally realizing why Takato's here.

"Yeah, it's been bugging me all day." Takato said to the blonde.

"What are you two talking about?" asked a confused Rika.

"I'll tell you about it later, but what Takato is asking is do Digimon just turn back into data for no reason and get pulled back into their world?" Naruto asked, wanting Rika's thoughts on this. After all she is the most experienced at being a tamer in their group.

"Well Digimon are made up of data so probably." Rika said, not really sure of it herself.

"Doesn't that make you upset?" Takato asked. Rika didn't answer but Naruto saw her give Renamon a brief glance. The group of three then heard a voice call out wondering if Rika was home. Renamon quickly grabbed Guilmon and pulled him out of sight as Seiko opened the door too where the three teens were sitting.

"Oh here you are Rika, and Naruto-kun it's nice to see you as well. And who are you?" Seiko asked.

"Let me introduce you, Seiko-san this is Takato, he's a friend of mine from school and needed some advice about the Digimon card game so he came to ask the Queen of the game herself." Naruto said lying smoothly, also earning him a look from Rika for referring to her as such, "And Takato you remember the person that makes that Legendary food I told you about?" Naruto asked getting a nod from the goggle-wearing tamer. "Meet the miracle worker herself, Seiko Hata-san or otherwise known as Rika-chan's grandmother."

"Oh Naruto-kun, you flatter me, anyways it's nice to meet you Takato-san. I was also coming to tell you all that the cookies are done and if you want some I can bring them out for you." Seiko said immediately getting an eager nod from Naruto. Seiko just smiled and went to get them.

"Takato you have got to try these cookies they'll blow your freaking mind." Naruto said. It didn't take long before Seiko came back with a tray of cookies and a few cups of tea for the three to enjoy. Naruto didn't waste any time digging into the cookies. Takato also took one and after one bite his tastes buds were dancing at the delicious tasting cookies. "See what I'm talking about?" Naruto asked.

"You weren't joking Naruto these cookies are amazing." Takato said before tearing into them with Naruto. He even tossed a few to Guilmon after he managed to get free of Renamon.

Takato was there until the cookies were gone, which they didn't last long. With his time done there done he and Guilmon were quickly escorted to the front door by Naruto, Rika and Renamon. "Well thanks for everything Rika, it's not every day you get to meet your dream girl." Takato joked.

"Oh Takato that was terrible." Naruto said.

"Yeah I know, I just couldn't resist." Takato said.

"Yeah, I probably would've done the same thing." Naruto told his friend.

"Well anyways see you guys later." Takato said before leaving.

"Renamon bye-bye." Guilmon said waving before taking after his tamer.

"Hey!" Rika called out to them. They turned around to face the redhead. "If you ever mention that dream again I'll send you to dreamland myself." Rika said lifting her leg into a chest high kick to get her point across before walking back inside.

"Man she just can't take a joke." Takato said before he began making his way back to Guilmon's shed to drop him off before heading home.

"Seriously Rika-chan, you just can't take a joke sometimes can you?" Naruto said, thinking the same thing as Takato.

"I don't care if it was a joke. The fact that he even dreamed about me is enough for me to want to kick his ass." Rika said to the whiskered tamer.

"Oh, so what if it was me, would you want to kick my ass if I told you I saw you in a dream of mine?" Naruto asked.

Rika's face turned a little red at the thought of Naruto dreaming about her but quickly forced it back down as she answered his question, "It depends on what the dream was about." she said giving Naruto a look that all women had when they were secretly telling a guy that they better not be having perverted thoughts about them.

"Ok I get it, so no bondage dreams got it. But it's ok for me to dream about you being in danger and then I swoop in like your knight in shining armor, saving your life and getting a kiss for my bravery." Naruto said with a mischievous smile on his face.

Rika glared at the blonde just for using the word bondage, but her face gained a nice shade of pink at the second part of Naruto's last statement, and that would also be a point in Naruto's favor tying them up again. "Just forget it, Grandma probably has dinner on the table and I'm sure there's an extra plate for you as well." Rika said as she made her way to the dining room.

(Hypnos)

"Got another weird reading." Riley said.

"For once it's not another wild one." said Yamaki, surprised at the anomaly that has made itself known.

"You see this is what I was talking about." Riley said to her boss.

"Send a tracer." Yamaki instructed.

"Already on it." Riley responded, way ahead of her boss. However once the tracer got close to the anomaly it was absorbed. "What?!" she said in surprise.

Yamaki just glared at the screen from behind his sunglasses, "The tracer was absorbed." he stated, "What is going on here?"

(Later that Night)

Naruto and Rika were in the middle of a game when there was a knock on the front door. "It's kinda late, who'd be knocking at this hour?" Naruto asked.

"Let's just go and see who it is." Rika said as they picked up their cards. When they opened the door they were surprised at who it was, "Oh great." Rika said annoyed at who was there.

"Huh, Henry and Takato, what are you guys doing here?" Naruto asked.

"It's Guilmon, he's disappeared and I need your help getting him back." Takato said not wasting a second.

"What, when did this happen?" Naruto asked.

"About half an hour ago right in front of the flood tunnel, after he disappeared my D-Ark was showing me his signal and that it was coming from inside the tunnel." Takato said.

"Alright let's go, we're wasting time." Naruto said. Rika was about to ask why she should go but one look from Naruto and she lost her nerve.

(Hypnos)

"My little Yuggoth program should disinfect the area." Yamaki said as he began hooking up some wire so he could upload his new program into the Hypnos system mainframe.

"Shouldn't we be studying the anomaly sir?" Riley asked.

"Don't go getting soft on me Riley. This anomaly or whatever it is has caused me enough grief and soon it will be nothing more than a memory." Yamaki said as he began the upload process.

"But sir, unapproved programs are strictly forbidden." Riley said trying to dissuade her boss.

"Forbidden." Yamaki spat that word out like acid, "Those fools upstairs couldn't even begin to understand this technology let alone that there is a whole digital world out there, who are they to forbid me anything?" Yamaki said not being dissuaded from this course of action in the slightest.

(Outside the Flood Tunnel)

"This is it guys, this is where Guilmon disappeared." Takato said as the group stopped walking. They were about to investigate further when they heard Renamon call out her tamer's name. "Ah Renamon is disappearing too." Takato pointed out as they saw Renamon's paws begin fading.

"Renamon don't move." Rika commanded.

"Hey look, check it out." Terriermon said as he raised on of his large ears closer to the entrance to the tunnel.

"Whatever it is it seems to only affect the Digimon." Henry said as he took up a thinking pose.

"We already knew that since Guilmon disappeared and Takato is just fine." Naruto said, "The Digimon will be useless here, looks like we're on our own."

"Your right Naruto, you all might as well leave this area." Henry said to Terriermon, Renamon and Falcomon who Naruto called up and told him to meet up with them.

Renamon hesitated, waiting for her tamer's permission to leave. "It's ok you can go." Rika told her. She then turned to the blue-haired tamer, "Don't order my Digimon around you got it, she's mine."

"Look I'm just trying to keep the Digimon out of harm's way." Henry said.

"Just let it go Rika-chan, it's not like it's that big a deal." Naruto said, stopping this from escalating and wasting any more time.

"Whatever." said Rika.

"Thanks Naruto, now let's go get Guilmon." Henry said as he, Takato and Naruto began hopping the fence to get to the tunnel.

"Let's go find Guilmon." Rika repeated mocking Henry. "What a waste of time." she said as she looked at her D-Ark.

"Why don't they ever make tunnels that aren't dark and scary?" Takato asked to no one in particular.

"Oh come on Takato, don't chicken out us now. Besides if the tunnels weren't dark and creepy then they wouldn't be nearly as fun." Naruto said completely unaffected by the creepiness of the tunnel. Raiding a few of Orochimaru's bases does that you. They were about to start their trek down the tunnel when they heard the entrance of the straggler of their group. "Well it's about time you caught up with us Rika-chan." Naruto told the girl.

"A tamer never walks away from danger." Rika said

"Ok whatever helps you sleep at night." Naruto said with his fox like grin.

"You know Whiskers, there are times when I really do hate you with every fiber of my being." Rika said.

"Now you don't mean that, I know that you really love me." Naruto said.

"Can we get going already, you two can flirt on the way." Henry said, wanting to try and help Takato get his partner back as soon as possible.

Naruto and Rika both blushed at the mention of them flirting with one another. That wasn't even close to what they were doing. It's just how they communicate. With that the group of four began making their way through the tunnel. After about a half hour of walking Rika decided now was as good a time as any to let her frustration be known, "Ugh how long is the damn tunnel?"

"My teacher says it goes all the way to the next town." Takato answered.

"Well that's dumb, I don't want to walk all the way to the next town to find your pet dinosaur." Rika said annoyed as that very well could be a possibility.

"Well Rika if you hope hard enough, maybe the tunnel will flood and we can swim the rest of the way." Henry joked.

"Shut up!" Rika said.

It was then that Takato's D-Ark began going haywire. "Hey guys look at this." Takato said showing the three his D-Ark.

"Never mind that Takato, look at that." Henry said pointing past the goggle-wearing tamer.

"Whoa, what is it?" Takato asked the obvious question.

"I've got a better one, how the hell did we not see this thing from further back in the tunnel?" Naruto asked. The thing was massive, bright and they were currently standing twenty feet away from it and only now just noticed it.

"Guilmon's in there I just know it!" Takato shouted, anxious to rescue his friend.

"Don't be stupid, how can you possibly know that he's in there?" Rika asked.

"Well where else would he be Rika-chan?" Naruto asked, getting a glare from the girl since he just turned her question around on her.

It was at this point that all of their D-Arks began shoot up beams of light. "What's going on?" asked a confused Takato.

"Our D-Arks connect us to our Digimon, maybe we can use them." theorized Henry as he pointed the light his D-Ark was emitting towards whatever the hell that thing is. The rest of the tamers were quick to follow Henry's lead. It wasn't long before the D-Arks created an opening for them, Takato was the first to charge in with Henry right on his heels. Both Rika and Naruto weren't too far behind them, when they began wondering where the hell they were. It just seemed like they were floating around in an empty white void. "Maybe the Digital World from the show is real and we're in it." Henry once again theorized.

"Not quite, while the Digital World has to exist I seriously doubt this is it." Naruto said, not letting on the fact that he's been to the Digital World. It was then that he spotted something out of the corner of his eyes. "Hey Takato I found a poorly gift wrapped Guilmon for you." Naruto joked about Guilmon's position. Guilmon was tied up by something that wasn't attached to anything but maybe the void itself.

It was then that Takato began to 'swim' to Guilmon claiming that it was how he flied in his dreams. Naruto just sent Rika a smirk that she caught and glared at him for before they both followed after Takato and Henry. "Guilmon wake up!" Takato shouted to his tied up friend.

"Uh five more minutes Takatomon." Guilmon said as he tried to get more sleep. Takato just chuckled as he and the others looked on at the scene. However things began getting chaotic as the area began to destabilize as things were being deleted. "What's going on?" Takato shouted.

"Look the area is disappearing." Rika said as she pointed to the cables that were holding Guilmon as they started disappearing.

"I'm not gonna make it in time." Takato said.

"Well then get your ass in gear!" Naruto said as he appeared behind Takato and kicked him in the ass, sending him flying towards Guilmon. As the area was destabilizing, Guilmon's restraints weakened to the point that he broke free by the time Takato got to him. As Takato and Guilmon were having their quick reunion Guilmon began glowing red and created a road for them to run on. "Alright this should make getting out of here easier." Naruto said as he and the others touched down on the road and began running for the exit. They just barely managed to get out in time before being deleted along with the area they were just in. Strangely enough they reappeared in the center of the park and not in the tunnel.

"Phew, that was a close one." said Henry.

"You can say that again." Takato said, just happy that he's got Guilmon back.

"I think once is enough." Henry joked.

"Well guys, I think that's enough excitement for one night. So if you don't mind I'm gonna go home and sleep like the dead." Naruto said.

"Yeah, now that you've got your pet back I'm outta here." Rika said wanting to get to bed as well.

"Ok thanks you guys, I couldn't have done it without you." Takato said.

"Don't mention and if you ever need another kick in the ass let me know, I'll gladly do it." Naruto joked.

"I'm sure you would, I could've done without that by the way." Takato deadpanned.

"Yeah well, see ya guys I hear a pillow calling my name." Naruto said as he and Rika broke off from Henry and Takato.

(Hypnos)

"Sir the anomaly is destroyed." Riley reported.

"Good, now I want you to run through all of the information we've acquired on it and find out where it came from." Yamaki said.

"Yes sir!" both Riley and Talley said as they began going over all of the data.

(Unknown Time and Place)

_Oh it looks like those humans are more resourceful than I gave them credit for. One group managed to rescue one of their little friends from one of my feeding grounds, while another destroyed it. No matter, they may have delayed my return but they haven't stopped it. And when I escape this prison, he and I have a score to settle._

XXX

**A/N: So here is chapter 8, a little shorter than the others but not by that much. Anyways I hope you enjoyed it and please don't for get to leave a review.**


	9. Trust Issues

**A Shinobi A Long Way from Home**

_Chapter IX_

_Trust Issues_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Digimon.

XXX

It has been two days since the incident with Guilmon disappearing, and Naruto was currently on his way to school. Somewhere along the way Naruto met up with Takato and they began chatting, "Man I can't wait for Guilmon to Digivolve. I was up all last night drawing different thoughts I had about how he'd look in his Champion form." Takato said excitedly.

"Careful Takato, if you keep talking like this you might end up sounding like Rika-chan before Renamon finally Digivolved." Naruto joked.

"Wait Renamon Digivolved, when did this happen?" Takato asked.

"It was couple of days before Falcomon and I went up against Aquilamon." Naruto answered.

"What happened?" Takato asked.

"What do you mean 'what happened.' Rika-chan and Renamon challenged a Digimon and Rika-chan finally got Renamon to Digivolve. What more do you need?" Naruto said, intentionally being very vague about the whole thing to respect Rika's wishes to keep the exact events of what happened that night a secret.

"I see, hey speaking of Rika, I gotta ask. Are you two going out or something? I mean the amount of time you spend together and the way you guys seem to communicate makes me think that you are." Takato asked, he really wanted to know this since it has been bugging him for the past few days.

Naruto just blushed at the suggestion that him and Rika were dating, "No Rika-chan and I are not going out. While I'll admit that she's very beautiful and will be downright gorgeous when she's older, she and I are nothing but really good friends." Naruto told the goggle-wearing tamer. "But now that you bring that up I have a question for you, when are you gonna work up the courage to ask that Jeri girl out? I know you have a huge crush on her." Naruto asked, wanting to quickly divert the conversation away from his and Rika's totally platonic relationship as soon as possible. But at the same time bring up a question he's been having about Takato.

Now it was Takato's turn to blush, "Wh-What do you mean, I don't have a crush on Jeri." Takato tried to deny but Naruto didn't believe him for a second.

"Takato, there is no point trying to lie about this because, A: you're a terrible liar, and B: just about everyone knows that you have a crush on her since you're not very discreet about it." Naruto deadpanned.

"Oh alright, I'll admit that I like Jeri, but I just don't what to do about it." Takato said as he looked down and admitted defeat.

"What do you mean you don't know what to do about it?" asked a confused blonde.

"Well I don't know if Jeri likes me back. I know that she considers me a friend but I don't know if that's all she likes me as." Takato said.

"So then just talk to her, just have a casual conversation with her. I'm sure she'll drop some hints for you if she does. After all I doubt she'll out right say it unless you ask her out, since for some reason all women just can't ever be straight forward with us. I swear they always just beat around the bush and expect us to understand them." Naruto said. (A/N: If you are a fellow guy then you clearly understand how frustrating this is. So I ask, but seriously doubt I'll get a straight answer, why can't you girls ever just be straight with us and not be so cryptic all the time?)

"You think that's all I need to do?" Takato asked hopefully as they closed in on the school.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I mean that's really all you can do. After all, unless you get to know her better and let her know you better than you'll never know if she reciprocates your feelings." Naruto said. It was at this point that they were in the school and saw their fellow tamer in the hallway.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Henry asked.

"Oh nothing much, just giving Takato some advice on how to handle is huge ass crush on Jeri." Naruto said much to Takato's embarrassment.

"Oh are you finally going to ask that girl out?" asked Terriermon as he appeared from his hiding spot right outside the open window they were standing next to.

"See Takato, even Terriermon knew about your crush on the girl." Naruto said, driving the point home that everybody knew about his not so secret crush.

"Alright I get it let's just get to class already." Takato said blushing the entire time.

As soon they entered the class room they quickly found their seats as homeroom was about to start. When the bell rang Ms. Asaji began taking attendance. Seeing that only one of her students was absent she then stood up to give the kids an announcement. "Listen up class, there have been numerous reports of a child playing in Shinjuku Park at night." she said getting a surprised and scared look from Takato. Naruto was curious as to who the kid was and why this was important. "I don't think I have to remind you but just in case, no wandering around after dark." she said, with that done she then told the kids to open up their textbooks to page 136 so they could begin their lesson.

(Lunch Time)

"Hey guess what I heard, there some little pyromaniac running around at night scaring couples, wish I thought of that." Kazu said as he was surrounded by a bunch of his friends as they laughed at the prankster's actions.

"How do we know that you didn't Kazu?" Kenta asked.

Meanwhile the group of boys were discussing this, a group of girls were having a very similar conversation. "You know what I heard, and this will really make you made?" a girl with blonde hair in pigtails asked her friends.

"What?" another girl asked.

"Some kid is going around picking on couples, when they're kissing." the blonde girl said.

"What, you gotta be kidding."

"It has to be a boy."

"Oh it's a boy alright." the blonde girl said as she turned her attention to Kazu's group.

"Yeah, confess." another girl in the group said as they all turned and glared at the group of boy's.

"Hey don't look at me." Kazu said as he got up from his seat.

"Confess to what we didn't do anything. Girls never fight fair." Kenta said trying to defend themselves.

Takato for his part began looking down at one of the pictures that he drew last night. _Oh Guilmon, what have you gotten us into this time?_

"Don't you lie, we know it's a boy." another girl said accusingly as the argument continued on.

"We're not lying you bitch." Kazu said.

"ALRIGHT ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!" Naruto shouted drawing all of the attention to himself and effectively silencing the whole class. "If you all wanna know who it is that's doing this I can tell you exactly the kind of person to look for."

"Oh so you're the one huh." one girl accused glaring at the blonde.

"I said shut up. I have nothing to do with any of these pranks. I may not know their identity but I can tell you the kind of person who'd do it." Naruto said.

Ms. Asaji for her part was curious about what Naruto knew, if the look in his eyes were to go by then it'd be safe to assume that he really did know who to look for. "Alright Naruto, why don't you tell us who think it is since you seem to be so sure that you can tell us." she told the blonde.

"It's easy to figure it out, I can tell who a person is just by the nature of their pranks. And this one while definitely done by a boy since no matter what girls hold romantic relationships in a much higher regard than boys do, so they won't interrupt those kinds of moments for any one." Naruto said getting a smug look from the girls since they were right that it was a boy, but that really isn't something to be smug about since they literally had a fifty-fifty shot of being right. "However what the girls are failing to understand in their accusations is the reason why this kid is pulling these pranks." Naruto said getting curious looks from everyone.

"What do you mean his reasons, he's just being a little brat is all." one of the girls interrupted.

Naruto however just glared at the girl getting her to shut up, "Believe it or not but everyone does what they do for a reason, and while I agree that this kid is being a brat you're failing to consider why he's being a brat." Naruto told the girl.

"So why do think he's doing this Naruto?" so far amazed at her student's fairly well reasoned deductions.

"It's simple, he's acting out the way he is because he's had trouble at home and this is his way of lashing out. Maybe he comes from a broken home, or maybe his parents are alcoholics and they beat him, or perhaps he's being neglected. Whatever the reason, this is a kid in pain and in desperate need of attention and is doing the only thing he can think of to forget the pain he's been put through." Naruto said in a sympathetic tone as if he could identify with the kid. Not many in the room could hear the identification in his tone except for Takato, Henry, Jeri and Ms. Asaji and they all wondered what the blonde has been through to be able to understand all of this.

Many of the girls however began feeling a little bad that they were so quick to lash out on the boys for something that one kid was doing. And if the blonde boy in the room who just yelled at them was right, it was kid that was in a lot of pain. The boys however didn't seem to really care but they were curious as to how Naruto knew all of this. Ms. Asaji was impressed with the blonde, if he could figure all of that out just by someone's pranks then she believed he'd make a great detective or perhaps a great counselor since she heard it in his voice that he understands this kid's pain.

(After School)

"You think it was Guilmon? I don't know Takato, he doesn't look like a kid to me." Henry said not believing Guilmon could be behind this.

Naruto for his part was kinda annoyed that Takato was quick to place the blame on Guilmon, "Takato didn't you hear a single word a said in class today. There is no possible way that Guilmon had anything to do with this. He just doesn't have it in him to go around scaring people. You created him and you know him better than anyone else, but you barely trust him to be out of your line of sight where you can make sure he doesn't get into trouble."

"I'm sorry Naruto but I just can't help it. Guilmon has the mentality of a kid sometimes and I can't help but think of what he does when he gets bored. I just worry about him since I don't want him to be hauled off to some government facility where they'll perform who knows what kind of experiments on him." Takato said even though Naruto gave his explanation for who he thought it was, he just couldn't help but think Guilmon may have a part in this.

Terriermon then decided to drop down from the tree he was hiding in, "Wise up guys, they only think it's a kid since it's too small to be an adult." he said hanging upside down from his perch.

"Thank you Captain Obvious." Naruto said sarcastically.

"Did ask for your input?" Henry asked, not getting anything in response, "I didn't think so. Anyways I heard the principal saying that the teachers need to start patrolling the park."

"What but that's terrible, they'll catch Guilmon for sure." Takato said panicking.

Naruto however was confused, "How can the principal demand that the teachers have to patrol the park when they are off hours?" Naruto asked since that made no sense to him. Back in Konoha when he was given medical leave he didn't need to do what his superior's said except for Tsunade baa-chan's since she was in charge of everybody in the village, on or off hours. Also if he didn't there'd be a strong chance she'd punch him through a wall for not obeying her and if she didn't than Sakura-chan definitely would.

"I have no idea." Henry said.

"Well whatever, I need to get going. Registrations for the tournament start today and Rika-chan wanted me to sign up with her so she knows that I'll be participating in the tournament, though that isn't necessary since she's threatening to take away Seiko-san's food from me." Naruto said.

"That's rough man." Takato said, understanding his friend's pain. Having unlimited access to food that good quickly stripped away from you is a cruel and inhumane punishment.

"Wait Takato, you've had that cooking that Naruto is always going on about?" Henry asked.

"Yeah, I tried a few of her cookies when I went to see Rika about that incident when Guilmon disappeared and Naruto isn't exaggerating, in fact his words alone don't do it justice. Those cookies were that good." Takato said all of sudden craving those cookies.

Henry for his part was jealous that he kept hearing about this amazing food but has yet to try it. "Hey Naruto think you could get me a few of those cookies?" Henry asked.

Naruto just looked at Henry as if he asked him to commit suicide, "Hell no, if those cookies are there I'm eating them. I'm not saving them just to hand them over to someone else later, even if that person is a good friend of mine." Naruto said, leaving no room for argument.

"Ah come on man, all I'm asking for is one cookie." Henry said trying to change the blonde's mind.

"And I just said, unless you're there to get it before me than that's my cookie." Naruto told him. They continued this argument for a bit before Henry deciding to give up for the time being, but he made a promise to try that food at some point. With that Naruto took off to Rika's house knowing that it was too late to go and walk her home. As soon as he arrived he didn't even bother knocking, "Seiko-san, Rika-chan I'm home!" Naruto called out.

"Ah Naruto-kun just in time I was just about throw in a pie to bake." Seiko said.

"I can't wait for it to finish baking Seiko-san." Naruto said, "By the way is Rika-chan home yet?"

"Not yet but she'll probably be here soon. I actually thought you were gonna walk her home." Seiko answered.

"I couldn't today, I got held up talking with some of my other friends from school and by the time I'd get to Rika-chan's school she'd have already left. So I decided to come straight here." Naruto told the older woman.

"I see, well anyways make yourself at home. Also there's something I'd like to tell you." Seiko said gaining the blonde's curiosity. "I'd like to thank you for all that you've done for Rika, because of you she's opened up so much to not only you but she's even opening up to me again. She smiles and laughs more just like when she was a little girl and it makes me so happy to see that Rika is happier now and that is all because of you. So just know that you have my eternal gratitude and I don't think I'll ever be able to pay you back for all that you've done for my granddaughter for just being her friend." Seiko said as tears began running down her face. She's just so happy that her granddaughter has finally begun to heal that she can't even put it into words.

Naruto just smiled to the older woman, "There is no need to thank me Seiko-san, it was nothing." Naruto said.

"No Naruto-kun it wasn't nothing, you changed her life for the better. You've accomplished something that I have been trying to do for years, but have been unsuccessful at, in such a short amount of time. For the longest time Rika was lost and alone but you gave her a reason to smile again. So I again thank you and if anything happens just know that the lights will be on and there will always be a hot plate for you here. To me, it's like you've become a part of the family." Seiko said as she wiped away her tears and smiled at the blonde.

At the sound of being considered a part of her family Naruto stiffened. 'Family', that was the one thing that Naruto has wanted above all else. He wanted it more than being a great ninja, more than being Hokage, even more than just having friends. Family is the one thing that Naruto has been denied all of his life and while had a type of surrogate family, it just wasn't the same. Naruto soon began to tear up as he lowered his head to the point where is bangs covered his eyes. Seiko noticed this and began wondering if she said something to upset the blonde. "Naruto-kun, are you ok?" she asked.

"I'm fine Seiko-san, I'm just so glad to hear you say that. Family, it was the one thing I wanted more than anything as a kid, and while I grew close to others and began seeing them as a sort of surrogate family it just wasn't the same as being part of a real family. But hearing you say that you consider me a part of your family, you just have no idea how happy that makes me." Naruto said as he continued to lets his tears show.

Seiko for the first real time saw all of the pain Naruto had been hiding from the world. Naruto's mask came off for the first time in a long time. It was a mask that not even he knew he was wearing. With that she pulled the blonde into a hug to try and comfort him. Naruto just let out all of his pain on the older woman's shoulders. Seiko continued to hold the blonde and rub his back, letting him know that she was here for him. After a good five more minutes of this Naruto finally calmed down pulled away from the older woman. "Sorry about that." he said, not really knowing what came over him.

Seiko just shook her head, "There's no need to apologize Naruto-kun. It's what family is for, right." she said.

Naruto just nodded and gave a million watt smile, "Thank you for that Seiko-san." he said.

Seiko returned the smile, "Your welcome Naruto-kun, just promise me that you'll be there for Rika."

Naruto continued to smile before his eyes took on a look of steely determination, "Don't worry, nothing will harm a single hair on her head so long as I'm around, and if anything tries to hurt or this family…I'll kick there ass till their left unrecognizable. It's a promise of a lifetime." Naruto said in a tone of unwavering determination and confidence that he could and would follow through with his promise.

It was then that the conversation came to a halt as Rika walked in through the door. "I'm home." she called out.

Naruto quickly rushed off to the bathroom to wash away the tear marks on his face, wouldn't do good for Rika to see that he was crying, she'd never let him live it down. Seiko decided to greet her granddaughter. "Welcome home Rika, how was your day?"

"It was boring as usual." Rika said as she took off her shoes. She then noticed another pair of very familiar orange and black basketball shoes. "Where's Whiskers?" she asked, wondering why he wasn't greeting her as well with his fox like smile.

"Oh he's in the bathroom." Seiko said, and that was enough for Rika. She didn't need to know what he was doing in there that was his business.

"I see well I'm gonna go get changed out of my uniform then head off to sign up for the upcoming tournament." Rika told her grandmother.

"That's right I remember you mention something about a tournament for that card game of yours. You won't be long I hope, I have a pie in the oven and it should be done soon." Seiko said.

Rika just gave her grandmother a slight smile, "Sure thing Grandma, once Whiskers and I sign up we'll come right back especially since he just can't seem to get enough of your cooking."

Seiko just chuckled at the mention of the blonde's love for her food, Rika was about to head off to her room but was stopped when someone grabbed her from behind in a bear hug pinning her arms to her side and lifted her off the ground. "Hi Rika-chan, did you miss me?"

"Naruto put me down you baka!" Rika shouted as her legs flailed about but the smile on her face told Seiko that Rika was having fun as well. _Naruto-kun, you truly are the perfect boy for Rika. I can see it on her face how much she admires and respects you. When I see you two together, I already see a picture of older versions of you both in each other's arms and smiling. I can only hope that you will return her feelings for you and that I live long enough to see that picture._ Seiko thought as she watched her granddaughter try and break free of Naruto's strong grasp, laughing and over all having fun.

When Rika finally got free and managed to get changed she dragged Naruto over to the card shop so they could register. "Hey Rika-chan, did you hear about those pranks on couples that are going on in Shinjuku Park?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah I heard about them, and that better not be you who's doing it." Rika said with an edge to her voice. While she may not care as much about romance as other girls, she still doesn't like the idea of someone going around and ruining moments like those. A part of her though couldn't help but fanaticize about her and Naruto sharing a moment like that, but she quickly crushed that thought. _What am I thinking, there is no way that is going to happen. We're just friends. Besides he could easily go for someone much better than me._ Rika thought to herself, though that last thought hurt her a little bit.

Naruto however didn't miss Rika become a little sad as she thought about something, but decided to not ask and decided to try and lift the tension she was unknowingly creating, "Oh come on Rika-chan don't even joke about that. That is an insult to my skills, and I'm sure Shinjuku isn't ready for another pranking spree by the King of the trade." Naruto said.

Rika just chuckled at that, "Yeah you got a point about that, you never did tell me how got the councilman to hang in the air by their underwear from nothing but metal wires."

"Ah ah ah Rika-chan, a true prankster never reveals his secrets. Not even to his best friend." Naruto said waving his finger.

"Whatever it's our turn anyways to sign up." Rika said as they made their way to the front of the line. As soon as they finished signing up Naruto told Rika that he wouldn't be able to stay for dinner since he had to feed Falcomon. Rika was a little upset that her best friend wouldn't be there but understood. So when they got back to her house Naruto sat down with the two women as all three of them had a slice of pie and tea. Once they finished Naruto took his leave claiming that he has a school project that he needs to work on.

(Later that Night)

After getting home and preparing something to eat for himself and Falcomon, Naruto had some clones handle his homework while he decided to give himself and Falcomon a night off from training. They both have been working really hard. Naruto had managed to master a few new wind jutsu while Falcomon grew more accustomed to his Champion form. So currently Naruto was on his PS4 that he managed to save up for and was kicking some ass in Destiny. He loved these videogame consoles that this world had, they were just so much fun. He was about to start another PvP match when his D-Ark went off. _Great, a Bio-Emergence, and when I wanted a night off._ Naruto thought to himself.

**"****Well think about this way kit, at least you get to see your girlfriend one last time before going to sleep."** Kurama teased.

_"__First, please don't go peeping into my private thoughts like that again, and second, Rika-chan isn't my girlfriend."_ Naruto said, not even bothering to try yelling at the fox since that's exactly what he wanted.

**"****She isn't yet, I know that you like her more than you let on. After all there isn't anyone in this world or our home world that knows you better than me."** Kurama said to his container.

Naruto had no retort to that since its true. Naruto originally only wanted to be her friend and help her out, but as he spent more and more time with her he began growing to like her more and more and now the thought of her dating another boy filled him with anger and jealousy to the point that he wouldn't know what he'd do if he met the guy, though he'd probably be very inclined to punch the guy's face in. And if someone ever had the guts to try and hurt her, he'd hunt them down and kill them with his own two hands. It was official, Naruto Uzumaki was in love with Rika Nonaka. Naruto however put those thoughts to the side, _"Whatever we need to get going anyways, the others might need our help."_ "Come on Falcomon, there's a Digimon who's ass needs kicking." Naruto said as he turned off his game and for the front door.

"Right behind ya Naruto." Falcomon said as he took off into the sky as soon as exited the apartment.

(Outside Hypnos Main Building)

When Naruto and Falcomon got to the spot where all of the action was happening he noticed he was the last one there and that only Takato and Guilmon were fighting. Their opponent was none other than Devidramon. "Hey guys what'd I miss." Naruto asked.

"Oh hey bout time you caught up Whiskers, anyways looks like Goggle-head and Dino-boy are about to fight one on one against Devidramon." Rika said, a little annoyed that she and Renamon may not get the chance to fight so long as Takato doesn't screw this up.

"Pyro Sphere!" called out Guilmon as he shot his signature attack at giant black dragon. However Devidramon swatted it like it were a fly, after that he took to the air.

Takato quickly gathered himself as he pulled out his D-Ark and some modify cards. "Digi-Modify…Power Activate!" Guilmon quickly shot off a much larger Pyro Sphere but Devidramon managed to protect himself from the attack, coming out of it completely unfazed. "Ah man that should've worked." Takato said as he dug through his pockets for another card. "Digi-Modify…Hyper Wing Activate!" Soon six wings of light appeared on Guilmon's back as he took off after Devidramon only to get bitch slapped out of the air. At this point Takato began panicking, "Uh Digi-Modify…Speed Activate!" Devidramon made a grab for Guilmon only for the red raptor to get out of the way before he could thanks to the increase in speed but was quickly knocked off his feet by Devidramon's tail.

Back with the other tamers they all watched as Guilmon continued to get knock around like a rag doll, "Speed is useless here, does he have any idea what he's doing? I swear he's his own worst enemy." Rika said as she watched the continuing train wreck that this fight is becoming.

"Something's wrong, normally Takato wouldn't be making all of these mistakes." Naruto said as he began wondering what is going through the Goggle-wearing tamer's head. Naruto took off to catch up with Takato with Rika right behind him.

"He's a basket case." Henry said before following after the other two. Terriermon though caught sight of something and hopped off his tamer's shoulders to check it out.

(Over with Impmon)

Impmon was currently standing off to the side watching Guilmon get clobbered by the black dragon. "A left and a right and fight fight fight." he chanted as if some kind of cheerleader, "Now that's entertainment. Look at him go, old pineapple head is getting sliced, diced and minced." He said as he took a step only to fall off the street sign he was standing on, though to his credit he managed to catch himself before falling all of the way off. "Little less enthusiasm old boy, less on the Boom and more on the Ba." He said as he pulled himself up. "Serves you right for walking out on me. Haha, I've outdone myself with this one." He then continued to go on a rant about how much more fun this was than scaring humans.

What he didn't know though was that he had a little eavesdropper. "Hm I knew Guilmon didn't have it in him, not clever enough." Terriermon giggled as he dropped down to inform the others of this discovery.

(Back at the fight)

"Guilmon!" Takato called out as he watched Devidramon throw Guilmon into a wall. He quickly tried to pull out another card, "Uh I'm running out of cards." Takato said as he accidently pulled out too many and dropped them all on the ground.

He went to pick them up but stopped when he heard Terriermon calling out to him. "Hey Takatomon!" Terriermon called, making a quick joke about how Takato let's Guilmon refer to him like that, "Guess what I found out Guilmon's innocent, well mostly innocent." he said getting the attention of the virus type tamer, "He was set up by that nasty little puppy-kicker Impmon. Now go tell him you're not mad anymore."

"Is that what was distracting you Takato, because you still believed that Guilmon was the one behind those pranks. When are you going to start trusting him? He's your partner, if you two are going to be fighting together than you need to start trusting him!" Naruto yelled at the Goggle-headed tamer wanting nothing more than to hit him over the head for his stupidity.

Takato turn back to Guilmon, "I was wrong." Takato said to no one in particular, it was more like hearing himself saying it would drive the point home. He soon watched as Devidramon pinned Guilmon up against the wall that he was thrown against using his tail that opened in three spots almost like a claw in a claw machine. "You have to get up."

"I'm trying." Guilmon struggled to get out since he was being crushed up against a wall. It was at this time Naruto noticed Calumon flying in.

"You just have to try harder, I don't want to lose you. You're my best friend." Takato said.

"I'm…your…best friend…you're not…mad?" Guilmon asked.

Takato just smiled, "I can't stay mad at you, and it's my fault for not trusting you."

Guilmon smiled back, "Trust me." he said before Devidramon decided to put more pressure on him.

"GUILMON!" Takato shouted, causing his D-Ark to burst to life as began giving off a lot of light.

DIGIVOLUTION

"Guilmon Digivolve Too…Growlmon!"

"Alright it's Growlmon!" Takato shouted. However Naruto's attention was elsewhere, he was the only one out of their group that noticed that at the same time Takato's D-Ark went off, the red triangle on the center of Calumon's forehead began glowing as well. Naruto narrowed his eyes believing there was a connection, after all if any of his experiences taught him anything, there was no such thing as coincidences on the battlefield.

With his Digivolution to the Champion level complete Growlmon roared to the sky as if announcing his presence to the world. He then set his sights on Devidramon, ready for round two. Devidramon gave a roar of his own before taking to the skies once again. "Pyro Blaster!" Growlmon called out his new attack. He unleashed a stream of fire at his opponent but Devidramon flew to a high altitude. Growlmon then climbed on top of a walk way that hangs over the street. Devidramon taunted him before diving down towards Growlmon. "Dragon Slash!" Growlmon called out as the blades on his arms extended and glowed an electric blue. Growlmon took a swing at Devidramon's throat but missed. However he quickly followed up by grappling the black dragon. The two remained there, each trying to overpower the other. Devidramon eventually managed to break free and get out of the way as Growlmon tried to grab him again. Devidramon then grabbed a hold of Growlmon's shoulders and lifted him high in the air.

"Growlmon hang in there!" Takato called out to his partner.

"Terrible choice of words there Goggle-head." Rika said as she chased after the two Digimon, wanting to see how this will all end.

"Oi Rika-chan wait up." Naruto said as he chased after his crush/love interest.

Once Devidramon brought Growlmon high enough he just dropped the saurian Digimon on the street below. Growlmon crashed through a bridge and was completely masked by the smoke, and since Takato couldn't see his partner he began to worry. However his worries were put to rest when Growlmon stood up looking mostly unfazed by the drop. Devidramon then did a nose dive straight at Growlmon. Growlmon looked up and launched a massive Pyro Blaster at his draconic foe and completely incinerated him. With Devidramon destroyed Growlmon absorbed his data before giving a victorious roar.

He then turned his attention on the four humans, but his primary focus was on his Goggle-wearing tamer who was having an internal panic attack. Takato closed his eyes thinking that this was it and he was gonna be eaten by Growlmon, however he and everyone else relaxed when they heard the sound of crying. When they looked up they saw that Growlmon was the one that was crying, "Don't…be…scared." he said in between sniffs.

Naruto just smiled, "Heh when he's not fighting he's just a big baby." Naruto joked.

"You got that right Whiskers." Rika said.

Takato quickly realized that Growlmon wasn't going to hurt him and hugged his partner, or more accurately hugged his knee cap since that's where he came up to. "I'm not afraid of you." Takato reassured his partner.

"Was I really that scary, when I was fighting?" Growlmon asked. Takato didn't answer but thought to himself, _Only if you find big and scary things big and scary._ "Takatomon, I want to go back to being Guilmon so you won't have to be afraid of me anymore."

"That's a good idea." Takato said.

"Here Takato use this." Naruto said as he handed Takato a De-Digivolution card. Once Takato swiped it Growlmon reverted back to Guilmon. Takato quickly apologized to Guilmon for his lack of trust in him. Guilmon being Guilmon quickly forgave his tamer and the two of them walked back to the park while everyone else went home. However what they didn't know was that someone was watching them and got a picture of all of their faces.

_So that blonde kid is really one of these so called tamers, well I'll soon find out about all of you. _Yamaki thought as he played with his lighter.

(Fanglongmon's Domain)

**"****Imperialdramon what do you have to report?"** Fanglongmon asked.

"It's just as you feared Fanglongmon-sama, his seal is weakening and it's only a matter of time before he breaks free. And I'm pretty sure he'll be out for revenge." Imperialdramon said.

**"****Imperialdramon, when that time comes I expect you to know what must be done** **and carry it out." **Fanglongmon said.

"Hai Fanglongmon-sama, I will not fail you again." Imperialdramon said as he was dismissed by his master.

XXX

**A/N: Well that's it for chapter nine. I noticed a few of you posted who you thought this new enemy is, well let me tell you, you're all wrong. The enemy for this story is one I don't believe has been done before and I have thank my friend KitsuneDragon for suggesting him. However don't go bothering him to figure it out, he won't tell you. I'm sure most of you probably know of him since he too has done a Naruto/Digimon Tamers story and to my knowledge is the only author to actually get through the entire series. If you haven't read his story then I suggest you check it out, you can find it in my favorites list. Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you think.**


	10. The D-1 Grand Prix

**A Shinobi A Long Way from Home**

_Chapter X_

_The D-1 Gran Prix_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Digimon

**A/N: This chapter will cover the D-1 Grand Prix but since I only have a basic understanding of how the Digimon Card Game is played I'll be bringing in aspects of the Yu-Gi-Oh card game since I know how that game is played.**

XXX

"I'm home!" called out someone's voice she entered the Nonaka residence.

Recognizing it, Seiko went to greet it, "Hello Rumiko dear, welcome home. How was your shoot in Germany?" Seiko said as she greeted her daughter with a smile, glad to see she came home safe.

"Oh it went great mom, the magazines that will have the pictures will be coming out next month." Rumiko said as she hugged her mother.

"That's great dear. I'll have to be sure to get an issue so I can add the picture to the scrapbook." Seiko said. She has long been taking the pictures with her daughter in them and cutting them out to make a scrapbook, detailing her daughter's success as a model through the years.

"Yeah, by the way I take it Rika is still at school?" Rumiko asked, looking forward to seeing her daughter. She has a bunch of new clothes she wants Rika to try on.

"She should be coming home any minute now, and with any luck Naruto-kun will be with her." Seiko said.

"Oh you mean that boy you've told me about over the phone that has managed befriend Rika?" Rumiko asked, positive she was correct.

"The very same, and I'm sure you'll love him, he's a very nice boy. However please don't go asking for too much about his past, he hasn't told us everything but I do know that he's had it very rough growing up." Seiko told her daughter, wanting to spare the boy she has come to see as a grandson from reliving those painful memories.

"Ok I won't ask too much." Rumiko said in an understanding tone.

Rumiko than quickly brought her bags to her room but decided that she'd unpack later since she just got home from a long ass flight and wanted to relax a bit. She went back to the dining area where she found her mother eating a small snack of strawberry yogurt. They decided to chat and talk about Rumiko's trip to Germany. However it wasn't long until another voice, one Rumiko was unfamiliar with called out through the house, "Seiko-san we're home!" Naruto called out.

Rumiko just gave her grandmother a look, soundlessly asking her grandmother about this but Seiko just waved her off and went to greet the two teens. Rumiko decided to follow after wanting to meet the blonde. "Ah welcome home Rika and as always it's nice to see you as well Naruto-kun."

Naruto just gave the older woman a smile, "It's nice to see you as well Seiko-san. My day just isn't complete until I talk to you and annoy Rika-chan here."

Seiko just chuckled at Naruto's antics while Rika just glared at her blonde friend. It was at this point that Rumiko decided to make her presence known, "So this is the famous Naruto I've heard so much about." Rumiko said as she stepped into the two teens' line of sight.

Rika immediately recognized her, "Mom, when did you get home?" she asked.

"Hello Rika, I just walked in about a half hour ago, by the way I have a bunch of cute clothes that I want you to try." Rumiko said to her daughter, getting a groan in response from Rika.

Naruto decided to do his friend a favor and draw her mother's attention off of her for the time being, "Hello I'm Naruto Uzumaki and I take it you are Rumiko Nonaka, famous super model and Rika-chan's mother." Naruto said, introducing himself to the older woman. But it was how old much older that surprised Naruto, when he first saw her he noticed how young she really is. She couldn't be that much older than thirty-two, pretty young to be already having a teenage daughter.

Rumiko just smiled at the blonde, "You would be correct Naruto-san."

"Please Rumiko-san, just call me Naruto." Naruto said.

"Ok Naruto-kun then you can just call me Mom, if everything I heard is true than that will the case in a few years." Rumiko teased, causing the two teens' faces to turn a deep crimson from the implication.

"I'm gonna go and get changed." Rika said, thanking any higher being for giving an excuse to leave that situation. With that Rika left for her room while everyone else went to the living area to continue talking.

While Rika was in her room she couldn't help get her mother's earlier insinuation out of her head and her face continued to be a beat red. _Stupid mom and suggesting such a stupid thing, why did she have to go and say that? It's not like there's anything between me and Whiskers and even if there was it's not like he'd choose me anyways. Not me, I'm not feminine enough, he probably see's me as another one of his guy friends anyways._ Rika thought to herself, and for each of these thoughts that passed through her head her heart hurt more and more. It was the worst when she then imagined a picture of an older version of herself and Naruto standing next to each other with a small child in her arms with smiles on their faces only for that picture to be torn down the middle and a new faceless girl took her place. She actually clenched her chest right where her heart was and a few tears went down her face. _What's wrong with me, why am I always thinking these things, and why is it when I think of Naruto with another girl with the both of them looking happy that it makes my heart hurt and makes me almost want to cry?_

It was at this point of seeing her tamer's distress that Renamon made her presence known, "Rika is everything alright?" Renamon asked, surprising the unsuspecting girl.

"Renamon, don't do that." Rika told her partner.

"I'm sorry if I surprised you Rika, I was just wondering if you were alright, you looked upset about something." Renamon said.

Rika wiped the tears from her eyes, "I'm fine Renamon, just some dust in my eyes is all." Rika said as she began changing.

Renamon didn't believe Rika for a second but knew that wasn't going to talk about it so she just left it as it was.

(With Naruto)

"So Naruto-kun, where do you come from?" Rumiko asked.

"Well I come from village called Konoha, you won't find it on any map since we like to stay hidden. But I was eventually forced to leave and I can't go back." Naruto said, letting the older blonde know that he didn't want talk about that.

"I see, that's unfortunate, I take it that you miss all of your friends and family that were left behind." Rumiko said.

"Yes, I miss them very much and I think about them every day." Naruto said.

"So Naruto-kun, how did you and Rika meet?" Rumiko asked, wanting to find out all she could about the blonde that her mother holds in high regard.

"Oh well the night that I moved here I went out to get something to eat since there was nothing in my apartment, however I quickly got lost and went to ask someone for directions, well it turns out that the person that I asked was Rika-chan. She then pointed me in the direction of the nearest convenient store. I honestly didn't think I meet her again but then I ran into her again a smaller Digimon Card tournament where we faced off. She beat me of course but after that I decided to stick to her like glue." Naruto said, modifying the story a little bit so as not to reveal anything about Digimon actually existing.

"I see." Rumiko said a loud. It was at this point that Rika returned from her room after taking a moment to collect herself. "Oh Rika wait here, I wanna show you some of the clothes that I got you." Rumiko said as she took off to her room to get them from her bags.

Rika just groaned again, peeking Naruto's curiosity "What's up with you? It's just clothes." Naruto asked.

Rika just shook her head, "You don't understand Whiskers, my mother always brings home new clothes for me to try but they are always clothes she thinks are cute and as you know I can't stand cute."

"You can't stand cute, but you're really cute when you face is all red." Naruto said teasing his red haired friend. Rika's face turned red once again much to her displeasure because now she looks 'cute' according to Naruto. So she tried to resolve this issue with something that always works, violence. She quickly punched Naruto in the shoulder for the comment but he barely felt it, but decided to be over dramatic about it anyways, "OW Rika-chan why'd you do that, that really hurt. You don't go around hitting your best friend like that." Naruto said in a whinny voice.

"Good, it was supposed to hurt." Rika said, ignoring her friend's antics and being kinda serious about it.

"Seiko-san, Rika-chan is being mean to me again." Naruto whined to the older woman getting a laugh out her. She loved his antics, and couldn't help but always laugh at them.

"Would you cut the drama queen act already?" Rika said getting a little annoyed at her friend's insistence that she's bullying him.

"Man you're such a killjoy Rika-chan." Naruto said, grinning to the girl. Rika however didn't respond, she just settled for glaring at the blonde.

It was at this point that Rumiko finally returned, "Here Rika I want you to try this on." she said holding up the pinkest dress Naruto has ever seen. Not to mention that it was covered in frills.

Naruto tried, he honestly gave it everything he had but the second he imagined a scowling Rika wearing that dress he just found he was fighting a losing battle and quickly burst out laughing. Rika however looked at the dress hoping if she glared hard enough it'd burst into flames, if only that was possible. "No mom I won't wear it." Rika said, while at the same time trying to tune out the blonde's raucous laughter, "And will you shut up Whiskers?" she finally snapped, glaring at the blonde.

Naruto managed to finally get a grip of himself as he wiped away the tears that formed from laughing so hard. "Sorry Rika-chan but just the thought of you wearing something like that is just too funny." he said.

Rumiko for her part was confused at the blonde's words, "What do you mean Naruto-kun, don't you think that Rika would look cute in this dress?" Rumiko asked.

Rika just shuddered to think of looking cute and especially wearing something like that, she then glared at Naruto silently telling him that he better say the right thing or regret it. And Naruto didn't disappoint, "Look Rumiko-san, I'm no expert in fashion but I do know that everyone has their own style. Take Rika-chan for example, she prefers to dress in a more boyish fashion making her a tom-boy, however if she had to wear a dress I'd be willing to bet that she'd go for something of a more simple design and wasn't pink. That dress that you're holding there is first of all pink which is an immediate 'no' from Rika-chan but is also way too girly and practically screams 'look at me'. And if I know Rika-chan then I know she doesn't like to be the center of attention." Naruto said, much to Rika's pleasure for his accurate assumptions and to Rumiko's shock. Not wanting to be the center of attention was a foreign concept to her. Seiko however decided that once she had the opportunity, she'd talk to Rumiko about this.

At this point Seiko decided it was time for her to get dinner started "Well I think it's about time I get started on dinner, Naruto-kun would you like to give me a hand, I believe that you asked me if I could teach you some of the things I know." Seiko said.

"Sure thing Seiko-san I'd be glad to and thanks for teaching me." Naruto said as both he and Seiko went to the kitchen.

Since Naruto was gonna be busy helping her grandmother in the kitchen, Rika decided that she'd wait to be called for dinner in her room but was stopped by her mother, "Rika wait I need to ask you something."

"What mom?" Rika asked in a monotone voice.

"I wanted to ask you if you were dating that boy." Rumiko said.

Rika's voice turned bright red at her mother's question, "No mom, I'm not dating Whiskers, he's just a good friend of mine. Besides he wouldn't want to date me." Rika said.

"Why wouldn't he want to date you?" Rumiko asked, not sure why Naruto wouldn't want to go out with Rika. After all Rika got her mother's good looks so she'll inevitably grow up to be a drop dead gorgeous woman.

Rika unknowingly clenched her hand into a tight fist, "It's because he doesn't see me as a girl." Rika told her mother.

"Are you sure, I know he regularly compliments you on your looks?" Rumiko asked.

Rika just shook her head, "Sure he compliments me all of the time but that's just him messing with me. I doubt he seriously means any of it." she said before walking off to her room.

Rumiko was now even more confused about this, even if her daughter doesn't open up to her even she can tell that Rika truly has feelings for the boy that go beyond friendship, but she says that they'll never be realized since Naruto doesn't see her as a girl. But then why not try to make it a point to him that she is a girl? Rumiko decided to for now drop the subject and wait to see what happens.

Dinner eventually came around and it was delicious as always. Rumiko questioned Naruto some more and Naruto answered them to the best of his ability, not wanting to reveal too much. When dinner was over Naruto said that he had to get going and said he'd see Rika at the tournament tomorrow. So with that he left for home. It he wasn't far from his apartment when he saw a familiar figure standing in the middle of the side walk staring directly at him while playing with his lighter. "Ah Secret Agent-san, long time no see." Naruto said.

"Enough with the games, don't think I'm on to you…Naruto Uzumaki." Yamaki said.

With that Naruto's demeanor completely changed to one of seriousness, "How do you know my name, I have no memory of introducing myself to you the last time we talked."

The tone the kid talked with kinda freaked Yamaki out a bit since no child should be able to speak with such seriousness, "I pulled up your records along with all of your other little playmates after the incident with that black flying monstrosity."

"So I take it that you saw the Devidramon incident." Naruto stated.

"Correct, I was there and I'm here to warn you, this little game you and your friends are playing is dangerous. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into by hanging around with those monsters." Yamaki said.

"Correction, I know exactly what I'm getting into, and it's something that I can handle better than you and your entire secret government agency. Besides I'm used to dodging fire balls." Naruto said.

Yamaki just growled, "Do you think this is game? Do you have any idea what those monsters are capable of?"

"Of course I don't think of this as a game and yes I know exactly what they're capable of, even better than you do. But what you don't know is what I'm capable of. Just a word of advice, don't worry about the monsters that look different from you, worry about the monsters that look just like you because they tend to be far more terrifying." Naruto told him as he began making his home.

Yamaki for his part was confused on what just happened, here he was trying to warn some kid about the danger he and his little friends were getting themselves into, but that kid just brushed him off and not so subtly threatened him. He obviously didn't take the brat's threat seriously but it was the way he said it. The kid just sounded so sure that he could be made into the bigger threat if he was provoked. But what could a kid like him do? With that Yamaki began making his way back to Hypnos, but what he didn't know was that he was being followed by a clone of a certain blonde shinobi.

(The Next Day)

It was the day of the tournament and although he was forced into it Naruto was excited for it none the less. He met up with Rika at her place before they both made their way to where the tournament will be held. "So Rika-chan think they'll be anyone that can give you a challenge?" Naruto asked.

"Who knows, hopefully otherwise this will just be a waste of time." Rika said.

"Hm, well I know that Takato and Henry will be there. Maybe they could give you a good run for your money." Naruto thought out loud.

"Please Whiskers, if Goggle-head plays like he tames Digimon then he won't be a challenge, and the same goes for the other one." Rika said fairly arrogantly.

"Well you may be right about Takato since the last time I played him I beat him pretty badly though he had a terrible hand at the start of the game giving me an early advantage. As for Henry, don't underestimate him. He's really good. He's beaten me during a fair share of our games." Naruto told her.

"Yeah, that may be true but you still have yet to win one game against me." Rika said.

"I know but I make you work for it. So you should expect the same from Henry." Naruto said.

"Alright fine if he and I meet, I'll take him seriously." Rika said, not wanting to lose a match just because she underestimated an opponent. They eventually made it to the card shop with a good hour to go before the start of the tournament. They quickly went to the drawing board to see where they were placed. "Hm looks like you and I are on opposite sides of the tournament, good this way the only way for us to meet is to both reach the finals so you'd better not lose." Rika said giving her friend a competitive look.

"Oh don't you worry Rika-chan, I'll be there, you just make sure that you make it." Naruto said looking at her just as competitively. With that done they split up so this way they could make any last minute adjustments to their decks. Once he made sure everything was in order Naruto decided to take a look around when he spotted Henry and Takato. He decided he might as well say hi. "Hey guys you made it." Naruto called out to them.

"Oh hey Naruto what's up, you ready for the tournament?" asked Takato.

"You bet. How about you guys, excited?" Naruto asked.

"We're pumped, right Henry?" Takato asked the blue-haired tamer.

"You know it." Henry said.

"So what are you guys gonna do with the prize money if you win?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know really, there isn't much a really want." Takato said as he thought about it.

"I was thinking about getting some new upgrades for my computer at home." Henry said.

"That's right you're a computer nerd." Naruto joked.

"Now that was rude Naruto, but yes I am a computer enthusiast." Henry said with a light glare.

"Dude relax you know I was just messing with you." Naruto said trying to get his friend to relax. The group of three continued to talk for a bit but then they noticed a man stand up on the stage and grab hold of the mic making a loud ringing sound getting the attention of all of the competitors.

"Hello everyone and thank you for coming out to participate in this year's D-1 Grand Prix. We have all of the best players in Shinjuku participating and it's time to see who the absolute best is. With that I'd like to announce the beginning of the tournament!" the store owner shouted getting loud cheers of excitement from the players, "And now would all of you please head towards your assigned table so that the first round may begin.

Naruto just turned to his friends, "Alright, I guess from this point on we're all enemies. Good luck guys and let the best man win." Naruto said as he went to where his first match was going to take place.

His first opponent was a boy about three years his junior, making the boy to be about eleven years old. "Hi I'm Naruto." Naruto introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you Naruto-san, I'm Raiko, let's have a good game." the boy said and Naruto just nodded to the boy.

With that they both sat down and took each other's decks so they could be shuffled and so this way no sleight of hand could be pulled. With the decks shuffled the judge asked both boys whether they wanted 'Heads' or 'Tails'. Naruto quickly called heads while Raiko just stuck with tails. With that the judge did the coin toss and the coin landed on Heads. Now that they knew who was going to go first they both drew their five cards and began the game.

Naruto drew his first card and looked to see what he had. He decided to start off easy and played his Biyomon in the attack zone and Digivolved it to Birdramon. Naruto then decided to call an end to his turn.

"Alright Naruto-san, first I play my Gomamon in the Attack Zone and then Digivolve him to Ikkakumon. I then play the Power Modify card and attack your Birdramon." Raiko said, trying to get the early lead.

"Not bad Raiko-san, but I play my WarGreymon's Brave Shield, blocking your attack and saving my Birdramon." Naruto said.

"Darn, oh well then I guess I end my turn." Raiko said, a little upset that he couldn't get the early lead.

Naruto then drew his card signaling the start of his turn, "Well first I Digivolve my Birdramon to Garudamon and then I play my Commandramon and play my Warp Digivolution Modify card to Digivolve him to his ultimate form of Tankdramon. Next I play my Power Modify card on Tankdramon and have Garudamon attack Ikkakumon." Naruto said waiting to see if the boy was going to try and counter the attack. However he didn't so Ikkakumon went to the discard pile and Naruto had Tankdramon attack. "However I'm not done, I now play my Second Strike and Hyper Chip cards on Tankdramon allowing him a second attack this turn and reactivating the Power modify card and doubling its effects. And with that I attack you again and win the game." Naruto said remembering the last time he played that combo on Kazu a while back.

"Oh man I lost already, no fair." the boy said, amazed he didn't even get a second turn.

"Good game Raiko." Naruto said as he held out his hand. The boy shook it just to be a good sport but then went home, not wanting to stick around.

Naruto felt kinda bad for thrashing the kid so bad during the game but he had a winning combo in his hand and didn't want to lose what could've been his only chance to win the game. With that Naruto waited until his next match was decided. As the tournament progressed he just continued to plow through the competition. He watched as Rika and Kazu played each other and Rika O.T.K'd him. (A/N: For those of you who don't know that means One Turn Kill) Naruto has never seen someone get O.T.K'd before so he was surprised that Rika managed to pull it off since they are extremely hard to pull off and you have to get ridiculously lucky to get all of the cards you need to do it. Too bad his luck only works with gambling money since he never loses at that, otherwise no one would be able to beat him.

The tournament continued to rage on and it was now time Naruto's next match against Takato, "Well Takato it looks like it's time for us to go at it." Naruto said excited to face off against Takato, wondering how much he's improved since their last game.

"Yeah, good luck Naruto." Takato said as he handed Naruto his deck to shuffle.

"Please no one has better luck than me, so you keep it. Anyways you just better hope you don't get a bad hand this time." Naruto said with a cheeky grin as he handed Takato his deck to be shuffled.

Once they shuffled each other's decks they handed them back and got ready to start the match. "Alright you two, Heads or Tails?" the judge asked.

"I choose Tails." Naruto said and low and behold he got it again. He so far hasn't been wrong this entire time and a lot of people were beginning to think he was cheating but couldn't figure out how, though the popular theory is that he paid off the judges. With that they drew their cards and started the game. "Ok first I play Betamon in my Attack Zone and Veemon in my Digivolution Zone. Next I Digivolve Betamon into Seadramon and Veemon to ExVeemon end my turn." Naruto said.

"Alright then, I'll start off with BlackAgumon and Digivolve him to BlackTyrannomon and play my Hyper Wing so he can attack you directly." Takato said dealing direct damage to Naruto taking the lead in Data Points. "Then I play my Program Crusher card to destroy you're Seadramon."

"Ah nice move there Takato, you knew Program Crusher prevented you from attacking for the rest of the turn so you gave your Digimon the Hyper Wings and attacked me first before activating your card to destroy Seadramon, good call there." Naruto said getting a grin from Takato, "But it was all in vain, since I play my Back-Up File modify card bringing Seadramon back."

"Aw nuts." Takato said.

Naruto then gave a competitive grin, "Now I play my Data Swap card, with this I can select one of my Digimon on the field and swap it with another from my deck, however they have to be the same or a lower level then the one on the field. So with this I take my Seadramon and replace him with Stingmon. Next I DNA Digivolve them to Paildramon and attack your BlackTyrannomon." Naruto said. The game was tied up. While Takato still had the point advantage, Naruto currently had the field advantage.

Takato had to come up with a way to either match that Paildramon or destroy it this turn otherwise Naruto could probably Digivolve it to Imperialdramon and that would be very bad for him. Fortunately Naruto currently only has one card in his hand while he had three so he had the hand advantage. He then looked at his options, he then saw a combo that he could pull off but he'd have to get lucky for it to work. "Ok first I play my Download card allowing me to draw three more cards. Next I play my Tentomon and play my Warp Digivolution card letting him jump up to MegaKabuterimon, after that I play my Power Drain card weakening your Paildramon and adding his strength to my MegaKabuterimon's and now I attack." Takato said hoping to pull this off.

Naruto however smirked, "I play my Wonder Guard card letting Paildramon survive the attack."

"That's fine you still take damage." Takato said, increasing his lead. Though he wished he could've destroyed the Paildramon at least he got rid of the last card in Naruto's hand.

Naruto then picked up his next card signaling the start of his turn, "Hm, look at what I got Takato, doesn't it look familiar?" Naruto asked as he held up his own Download card.

"You would pick up that card right when you needed it." Takato said, annoyed at the blonde's luck sometimes.

"Yeah well, since you already know what it does I'm just gonna pick up my three cards." Naruto said as he looked at what he got. Naruto then got a devious smirk. "Oh Takato it was a good game but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to end it."

"What are you talking about, I still have way more points than you?" Takato asked.

"Oh you'll see, first I play my second Data Swap card swapping out Paildramon for Silphymon, next I Digivolve Silphymon to Valkyrimon and have him attack your MegaKabuterimon." Naruto said.

Takato was confused, Naruto sounded so certain that he'd win this turn. Unless that card in his hand is Second Strike in which case Takato had the perfect card to survive this round, "I'm sorry to disappoint you Naruto but I won't be losing this turn, I play my WarGreymon's Brave Shield protect both my Digimon and my Data Points." Takato said.

"Ah that's too bad Takato, you see the thing is I predicted that and have just the card to win me the game. I play Sword of Fenrir. While normally if used on a Digimon it just lets them pierce through any defense, however if used on Valkyrimon it not only lets him pierce any defense but it doubles his attack strength." Naruto said to Takato's horror, "And that Takato is game."

"Ah nuts I almost had you, well anyways good game Naruto." Takato said as he held out his hand.

"Yeah you too man." Naruto said shaking the Goggle-wearing tamer's hand.

(Over with Rika)

Rika was just breezing through the tournament, there've been a few decent opponents but no one to actually give her a real challenge. She saw Naruto's and Takato's game had to admit that the virus type tamer didn't do half bad. She was currently waiting for her next opponent to arrive at their table so they could have their match. It didn't have to wait too much longer when she saw who it was. It was none other than Henry, "Hey Rika, looks like you're my next opponent."

"Oh it's you, well this is interesting. Whiskers said that you're pretty good and that you've beaten him a few times." Rika said.

"He did, did he?" Henry said, kinda annoyed that Naruto did so. He's was kinda hoping that she would underestimate him allowing him to take the victory.

"Yeah, so are you going to sit down so we can have our match or are you going to surrender?" she asked.

Henry didn't verbally answer he just handed Rika his cards while Rika hand him hers. They shuffled and returned the decks to their rightful owners. Henry was the one that was eventually allowed to make the first move. "Alright let's see here, first I play my Level Jump card allowing me to play one Champion level Digimon without having to Digivolve it. And the one that I choose is Angemon. Next I digivolve him to MagnaAngemon and play Gaomon in my Digivolution Zone and Digivolve him to Gaogamon and end my turn."

"Hm, not bad." Rika said. "But now it's my turn. So first I play Lunamon in my Attack Zone and play my Warp Digivolution card Digivolving her all the way up to Dianamon."

"What, it's only the first turn and you have a Mega out already." Henry said shocked that Rika is already ahead of him after his strong start.

"I'm not done, next I play System Copy. This allows me to select a Digimon on my field and if I have another one in my deck I can instantly play it, however it's destroyed at the end of my turn. So I play another Dianamon but she won't be staying for long since I now play my Data Swap card and swap out the Dianamon I just brought to the field for another Mega level Digimon." Rika said as she looked through her deck for the card she wanted, and Henry thought that he had a good start. "The card that I choose is Magnadramon." Rika said. "Now I attack with both of my Digimon."

While impressed with her start, Henry was still prepared for this, "Sorry Rika but I play my Firewall card. This stops you from attacking me for this turn." Henry said.

"Well that's unfortunate. Anyways I end my turn." Rika said, much to Henry's relief.

Henry then picked up his card and began going over his options, "Ok first I'm gonna Digivolve MagnaAngemon to Seraphimon and I move Gaogamon to my Attack Zone. Next I'll have Seraphimon attack Magnadramon." Henry said hoping Rika didn't have a counter. Since she didn't do anything Henry took it that she had nothing to protect her, "Next I play my Second Strike allowing Seraphimon to attack again and take out your Dianamon. And with your field wide open I'll attack you directly with Gaogamon."

"Not so fast, I play my Back-Up File card to bring back my Dianamon and now play my Quick Attack card allowing me to declare an attack during your turn. So I'll have Dianamon take out your little puppy." Rika said, effectively countering Henry.

However Henry had a card of his own that could help, "I play my Level Swap card. Now I can select two of my Digimon of two different levels and swap them to their appropriate levels so Gaogamon now becomes MirageGaogamon while Seraphimon goes back to being Angemon. And since your Digimon's attack strength is the same as mine's defense strength they cancel each other out and the battle ends." Henry said.

Rika smirked at this, "Hmph, well played. You've actually been the first real challenge I've had since the start of the tournament. So keep it up I wanna see what else you can do."

"Why thank you, it's rare to hear praise from you Rika. And I also gotta admit that you live up to your reputation and I'm having a lot of fun with this game." Henry said. The game continued to go back and forth and they were coming down to the home stretch. "I'll have my WereGarurumon attack you're Kurisarimon to end the game." Henry said hoping that Rika didn't have a counter to his attack.

"I'm afraid not." Rika said dashing his hopes. "I play my Digivolution and Rock Armor card Digivolving Kurisarimon to Inframon and increasing his defensive power making it way higher than your WereGarurumon's destroying him in the process."

"Not yet I play my power modify card to give him the strength he needs to defeat Inframon." Henry said.

"Nice try but I play my System Crash card canceling any and all Modify cards that you use for the rest of the turn making me the winner." Rika said with a grin.

"Ah darn it, and here I thought I was gonna win." Henry said.

"It was a good game, you're definitely one of the best players I've gone up against." Rika said, a while ago she would've just called him pathetic for losing but now she has no problem admitting when she just won a close game.

"Thanks Rika, it was a good game and I wish you luck with the rest of the tournament." Henry said with his head held high, at least he can say that it took the Digimon Queen to defeat him. Rika nodded and then went off to find her next match.

Both she and Naruto continued to plow through the tournament until it just came down to the two of them. They both just smirked at each other, ready to get this game on. "See Rika-chan, I made it to the finals like I promised. Now it's time to see who the best is." Naruto said.

"That of course will be me." Rika said challengingly.

"Oh I don't think so, I've learned a lot from this tournament and I'm ready to finally kick your cute ass into next week." Naruto said with a grin.

Rika's face turned a deep scarlet, "Okay blondie, now you're asking for it." Rika said as she tried to fight down the blush. With that they shuffled each other's decks and made their call for the coin toss, amazingly enough Rika won this time. "Ok first I'll play Salamon in my Attack Zone and Digivolve her to Mikemon and end my turn."

_That was kinda weak for Rika-chan, normally she starts off much stronger than that. She must be planning something but what? Well only one way to find out._ Naruto thought to himself as he began putting a plan together. "Ok first I play my Betamon in my Attack Zone and then I…" that was as far as he got when Rika interrupted him.

"Not so fast, I play my Warp Digivolution card and Quick Attack card. So I Digivolve Mikemon to Lilithmon and have her attack your Betamon." Rika said, delivering a massive blow to Naruto in the middle of his turn.

"Damn it Rika-chan, you can't ever let someone else get the first attack can you?" Naruto said.

"Nope." was all she said in response.

"Well seeing as it's still my turn I play my Quick Upload card. This allows me to select one Digimon in my deck and play it regardless of summoning requirements however once my turn is over it goes back to my deck. And the card I choose is Varodurumon." Naruto said as he selected his most powerful Mega Digimon in his deck.

"What the, where the hell did you get that card Whiskers?" Rika asked, shocked and confused that he got his hands on such a powerful card.

"I pulled it in a pack, anyways since Varodurumon was played through a card effect I still have my second summon so I play my Commandramon and Digivolve him to Sealsdramon. Now Varodurumon attacks Lilithmon and Sealsdramon attacks you directly." Naruto said, as he ended his turn and put Varodurumon back in his deck and shuffled it up before putting back down.

"Nice play there Whiskers, couldn't have done it better myself." Rika said with a bit of pride since she basically taught him everything he generally knew about the game.

"Thanks Rika-chan, now I believe it's your turn." Naruto said.

"Right, well first I'm gonna play my Back-Up File that I just drew and bring back Lilithmon. Next I play my System Copy and have them both attack your Sealsdramon." she said hoping to end this right now.

"Not gonna happen Rika-chan, I play my WarGreymon's Brave Shield and then I play my Hyper Chip protecting Sealsdramon from both attacks, and I don't take a scratch." Naruto said with a grin.

"Fine, I end my turn." Rika said as she put her second Lilithmon in the discard pile.

"Well since it's my turn again, I think I'll Digivolve Sealsdramon to Tankdramon and use the Power Modify card to double his attack strength and destroy Lilithmon for a second time." Naruto said.

"My turn." Rika said as she drew her next card. "I activate the Download card letting me draw three new cards. Next I play Level Match, this lets me play a Digimon in my hand that is the same level as one of yours, however I'm not allowed to summon anymore Digimon or Digivolve until my next turn. So I choose my Angewomon and have her attack your tank." Rika said.

"Not bad Rika-chan, but I play my own Back-Up File and bring back Tankdramon." Naruto said.

"God damn it, you're just determined to keep him around, until what you get Darkdramon?" Rika asked as she ended her turn.

"Nope, better. I play my Data Swap card to swap Tankdramon out for Garudamon and then I Digivolve Garudamon to Hououmon. And now I'll have Hououmon attack Angewomon." Naruto said.

"Fat chance, I play Wonder Guard to keep her around." Rika said getting really into this game.

"Damn it." Naruto said, frustrated that he couldn't destroy the female angel of a Digimon.

"Alright now it's my turn and I Digivolve Angewomon to Magnadramon and have it attack your over sized oven roasted turkey." Rika said.

"Nope, I play my Clone card allowing Hououmon to avoid the battle and stick around for another shot at beating you." Naruto said.

"My god just look at those two go, they just keep perfectly anticipating each other and countering every move they make." Takato said to Henry as they watch the intense game.

"No kidding, although I get the feeling that the match is going to end soon." Henry said.

"It's my turn again Rika-chan, and I Digivolve Hououmon to bring back Varodurumon. Now I attack Magnadramon for game." Naruto said.

"Guess again Whiskers, I play my Firewall card, preventing you from attacking for the rest of this turn." Rika said with a victorious smirk.

"SHIT!" Naruto shouted, thinking he finally had Rika right there.

"Now I draw my card. I gotta say Whiskers, this was definitely an intense game. Even more intense the game I had with your friend that you warned me about and I had a lot of fun but this is it, I play my Power Modify card and attack your Varodurumon for game." Rika said.

"You're right Rika-chan, this was a close game and it will end this turn but not the way you expect it." Naruto said getting a confused look from Rika, "I play my System Overload card, with this card all of our Digimon are destroyed and we damage equal to their attack strength." Naruto said with a smirk.

"I see, very clever. It looks like it's a tie. You know I'm gonna settle for a tie and that I'm gonna want a rematch." Rika said as she resigned to Naruto's strategy.

"Oh believe me Rika-chan, I understand. I'm only ending this in a tie so this way I don't lose." Naruto said.

"AND THAT'S IT EVERYONE, IT LOOKS LIKE OUR TWO COMPETITORS ENDED IN A TIE! THAT MEANS WE HAVE TWO CHAMPIONS, GIVE IT UP FOR NARUTO UZUMAKI AND RIKA NONAKA OUR NEW DIGIMON KING AND QUEEN!"

XXX

**A/N: And there is Chapter 10 for you all. I had a ton of fun writing this one since I don't think anyone has tried something like this before.**

**Yeah, yeah I know. Super cliche to have them end in a tie but I really had no other choice. It was either let Naruto win and no longer have Rika as the Digimon Queen which is unacceptable or it's let Rika win but that would be undermining Naruto's progress with his skills in the game since I really wanted to show that he is just as good as Rika.**

**Anyways please leave a comment and tell me what you thought of the tournament. I really wanna know since I feel like I took a jump into the deep end on that one.**


	11. A Heart of Ice, A Will of Fire

**A Shinobi A Long Way from Home**

_Chapter XI_

_A Heart of Ice, A Will of Fire_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Digimon

XXX

It has been one week since the tournament and boy was it a crazy week for our favorite blonde. Not ten seconds after the award ceremony, where they decided to just combine the first and second place prize and then split them evenly between Naruto and Rika, did the duo get swarmed by reporters from different newspaper companies wanting to take their picture and ask a few questions. Please note that when a reporter asks for you to answer their questions they'll ask the most pointless and intrusive questions in the span of two hours that makes you almost want to consider suicide, or maybe mass murder, whichever one gets them to shut up. But that's not all, thanks to his new title the Digimon King, previously held by a boy by the name of Ryo Akiyama who mysteriously disappeared one day not too long after winning the tournament, Naruto has been swamped with people trying to challenge him for his title. At first he accepted the challenges but when they just didn't stop coming it started to get really irritating.

Meanwhile Rika was dealing a few of her own problems, lately she's been wondering what the real secret behind Digivolution is. She's been thinking about this for a while now, and its bugging her since before she was convinced that all it took was for a Digimon to defeat and load enough data that they'd eventually Digivolve. Yet Guilmon was capable of Digivolving and he is by far the least experienced fighter between himself, Renamon, Terriermon and Falcomon. She thought about all of the times the Digimon Digivolved, like when Terriermon Digivolved when he accidently got in Renamon's line of fire and caused his tamer to worry about him. Or like when Renamon was fighting Dokugumon and was badly hurt only for her to Digivolve when she finally show how much she cared about Renamon. And lastly was when Falcomon was badly hurt by Aquilamon but wanted to keep fighting no matter what. Only for him to finally Digivolve when he and Naruto bumped fists, she couldn't hear what was being said but she heard Falcomon yell 'I WILL FIGHT!'

"Renamon's finally Digivolved and it's what I wanted for the longest time, so I should be satisfied. But I still feel like there's something missing." Rika thought out loud. It was then she felt something appear behind her, as if a giant hand was going to reach out and take her. She quickly turned around but saw nothing. _What was that?_ she asked herself confused at what just happened, she could've sworn she felt something.

She then chalked it up to her imagination and decided to keep on going only to stop when she found Calumon standing in front of her. "Hi." he said. Rika however just ignored him and kept walking. But Calumon just kept following her.

Having had enough she stopped and faced the walking talking creampuff, "I don't have any food so why do you keep following me?" she asked him.

Calumon just stopped in front of her and kept up his happy expression, "Wanna play?" he asked before running up and jumping to Rika's arms. Rika caught him before asking what he was doing, "Eskimo Kisses!" shouted the little creampuff.

Rika was about to chuck him to the other side of the street when she heard a familiar voice calling out too her. She turned around and saw her mother running up to her, "Mom what are you doing here?" Rika asked.

"Oh what a day it has been, we were supposed to have a photo shoot but before we could start all of these people showed up wanting my autograph and my secret to my youthful good looks. They just wouldn't leave me alone and we couldn't get anything done all day. Uh you have no idea how much of a pain in the neck it can be to be famous and popular." Rumiko said not noticing her daughter slowly backing away from her.

"Yeah lucky me." Rika said hoping to escape this scene as soon as possible.

"By the way Rika I love your toy it is absolutely adorable." Rumiko said.

Rika just looked down to the smiling creampuff in her arms, "You just had to be cute didn't you?" Rika said before looking back up to her mother, "You've got it all wrong mom, this is only for a science project. We have to tests the effects of gravity on small objects so I was heading over to the nearest bridge to throw it off of."

"Oh that's a shame and here I thought you were starting to get into cute things. By the way where's Naruto-kun, usually you two are hanging out around this time?" Rumiko asked.

"He said he had a ton of homework and couldn't hang out today." Rika said a little down trodden about that.

(Over with Naruto)

"Come on Peckmon move faster, if you don't move faster you'll never hit me." Naruto said dodging Peckmon's Thousand Beak attack.

(Back with Rika)

Rika eventually managed to get away from the crowd that was forming around her mother and took Calumon over to a shrine of some sorts and put him down. "Listen up you little squirt, I'm immune to your little cute and innocent act you got it, now scram." Rika told him. Calumon hesitated for a bit allowing his hurt feelings to be shown but Rika was unwavering so he took off crying in the opposite direction. "Keep going shortie." Rika called out to him. However it was soon after she said it that she felt that presence again, "Renamon." she said under breath hoping that it was her, she quickly turned around only to once again find nothing.

Renamon quickly though responded to her tamer's call and appeared not to far away from her, "You called?" she asked.

"Where have you been?" Rika questioned.

"Watching you from over there." Renamon said as she pointed in the direction she was referring to.

"Oh." was all Rika had to say in response to that.

"Rika is something wrong you look a little pale?" asked Renamon.

"N-No it's nothing." Rika said as she made her way for home.

Renamon though wasn't buying it and decided to have a look around for herself. She soon heard someone walking closer to her and turned around ready to fight, only to find out that it was Impmon. "Hey there fine and foxy so we meet again." Impmon said.

"Oh it's just you." Renamon said before deciding to leave and watch over her tamer.

"What do you mean it just me?" Impmon yelled in a rage before regaining his composure, "Oh check out Ms. High and Mighty. Maybe a good fight will knock her off her perch." Impmon thought out loud. "Hey I heard Falcomon call you an air headed wimp, if I were you I'd go teach old bird brain a lesson."

Renamon just stopped walking, "Hah." she said, the thought of that made her almost want to laugh.

"What are you just gonna let him get away with that?" Impmon yelled already see his plan go down the drain.

"You clearly don't know Falcomon." Renamon said.

"What do you mean?" Impmon asked.

"While Falcomon enjoys a good fight he is not the type to provoke one unless asking for a spar to improve his fighting skills. Not the kind of fight you're suggesting." Renamon said before leaving.

Rika had made it home and was heading off to her room when she felt that presence behind her again. She quickly went into her room and closed the door behind her, breathing heavily now starting to get really freaked out. "Renamon!" she called out for her tamer.

"Yes Rika." Renamon said appearing out of thin air.

Rika took a seat at the table in her room, "Go and see what's out there." Rika demanded.

"Of course." Renamon said as she took a look outside but didn't see a thing out of place.

"Well who is it?" Rika asked, demanding an answer.

"I didn't see anyone Rika." Renamon answered.

"Don't lie to me I know something is out there." Rika said, not believing that this was all just her imagination. However she quickly noticed that Renamon was giving her a strange look, "What's that look for?"

"Don't worry, I'll do everything I can to protect you." Renamon said.

"You don't need to protect me, I don't know why you'd say something like that." Rika said believing that Renamon is saying that she's weak.

"Because Rika I'm your partner." Renamon said hoping to get the freaked out girl to calm down.

"Let's get one thing straight I don't buy into all of this stuff about partners and feelings!" Rika yelled, regressing back to her Ice Queen persona due to her panicking mindset. "I don't need you, I don't need anybody." Rika said as she made to leave her room.

"Not even Naruto?" Renamon asked getting to Rika to stop for a second. Rika began feeling conflicted, could she deal with not having Naruto in her life anymore? However she pushed those thoughts aside and left her room without giving a word to Renamon.

(A Few Hours Later)

Rika was currently walking through the city thinking about what she said to Renamon and what Renamon said to her. 'I don't need you, I don't need anybody' those words just kept replaying through her head. But she couldn't get herself to believe them anymore. At one point she fully believed that, but then a certain blonde entered her life and made it brighter. Now she couldn't imagine what her life would be like without him, or to be more accurate, she didn't want to imagine a life without him because that would be a life full of pain, loneliness and sadness that she just wasn't sure she could handle again. However it was in the middle of her musings that she felt that cold presence again behind her. She felt the air around her drop severely as she grabbed a hold of her arms to try and keep her warm. She then turned around, "WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Rika yelled getting tired of this, but she no longer felt the presence and only saw two confused older men looking at her.

"Uh, nothing." one of them said.

Rika felt embarrassed that she made such a fool of herself, however that embarrassment didn't last long as she saw a transparent white figure float up the stairs, kinda resembling a ghost. Rika then glared in that direction, "Outta my way!" she yelled at the older men as she chased after the apparition. She followed it up some stairs when she lost it, "Hey I saw you, you stalking bastard now come out." Rika demanded. But when nothing happened she immediately lost her composure and put her hand up against the wall as she took deep breaths to try and calm herself down. Having had enough of this she whipped out her cell phone and dialed Naruto's number deciding she needed help, "Come on come on Whiskers pick up I really need your help here."

The phone then picked up and boy was she glad to hear his voice, "Hey Rika-chan what can I do for ya, did you miss me."

"Naruto shut up and listen, there is no time for your antics." Rika said, fear clearly evident in her voice.

"Rika what's going on, you sound terrified?" Naruto demanded, dropping his playful act as concern for Rika's well being filled him.

"Something is following me around and I don't know what it is. Every time I turn to confront the presence that I feel creep up on me it just disappears. Naruto this is really freaking me out and I need help." Rika told her friend.

"Where's Renamon, shouldn't she be watching over you?" Naruto asked.

"She won't come, she and I got into an argument and I'm pretty sure our partnership is done." Rika said sadly, feeling terrible about what she said to Renamon.

"Ah damn it this is the worst possible time for this come up, alright Rika listen to me I need to go straight home. Don't talk to anyone, and if you can, run there and don't stop. You'll be safest at your home. I'll meet you there." Naruto said.

"Ok Naruto but please hur…" was all Rika got to say as two giant white hands came from the wall behind and grabbed her while also covering her mouth so no one would hear her scream. Rika also dropped her phone in the panic.

Naruto heard Rika's muffled screams and yelled into the phone, "RIKA, ARE YOU THERE?! RIKA ANSWER ME!"

Rika managed to get the creeps giant fingers away from her mouth, "NARUTO, IT'S GOT ME! PLEASE SAVE ME NARUTO!"

"DON'T WORRY I'LL BE THERE BEFORE YOU KNOW IT!" Rika heard through her dropped phone.

(Over with Naruto)

Naruto quickly hung up his phone and punched a nearby tree completely destroying it.

"Naruto what happened?" asked Peckmon seeing the raw fury on his tamer's face.

"Someone has kidnapped Rika. And I'm gonna go kill the mother fucker that did it." Naruto said as his eyes turned from their usual sapphire blue to a deep crimson with fox like slits for pupils.

Peckmon was absolutely terrified of what he saw. This was the first time he's ever seen Naruto this angry. Sure he's seen the blonde get angry at him or other people for doing stupid shit. But this was on a completely different level then those times. Naruto was just radiating pure, unadulterated, and untamable rage and yet it wasn't directed towards him but it terrified him none the less.

**"****Kit calm down right now, otherwise you won't be able to find her."** Kurama said, trying to get Naruto to get his emotions under control.

_"__CALM DOWN, THE GIRL I LOVE WAS JUST KIDNAPPED AND YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN!" _Naruto shouted at his tenant.

**"****Kit, I get it you want to save her. But you need to get your emotions under control otherwise you might accidently hurt her when you confront the bastard that did this!"** Kurama yelled back at his container.

At the sound that he might accidently hurt her Naruto decided to take a deep calming breath so he can begin figuring out the best way of locating Rika and her kidnapper. _"You're right Kurama, letting my anger take control won't help this."_ Naruto said as he began feeling his sense of control come back to him.

**"****So do you have any ideas of how to locate her?"** Kurama asked since they couldn't waste a single minute, and they needed a plan because Shinjuku is fucking huge.

_"__I was planning on using Sage Mode to locate her, while the people of this world don't know it, they all do have chakra, just not very much of it since nobodies' coils have been exercised in centuries."_ Naruto told his giant friend.

**"****I see good plan."** Kurama said.

(With Rika)

She was confused. She was scared. She was cold. She was all of these things and more. She wanted to know where she was. It was then that a white demonic figure materialized from the ground behind her and wrapped its bat like wings around her, surprising the girl. "Welcome to my humble abode." the being said.

"Are you a Digimon?" Rika asked. The figure told her yes with its cold arctic voice, "So this is a Digital Field."

"Exactly, wonderful isn't it. It suits you perfectly." the white Digimon said.

"It suits me?" Rika asked, confused at what her captor was saying.

"The way you treat people, the way you think you're cold as ice and you have no time for warm weak relationships. You always expect perfection from yourself and others, you demand it." the Digimon said as Rika just mindlessly nodded her head, "I'm the only one who understands you Rika, that is why we are destined to become partners."

"Partners, us?" Rika asked.

"Yes." was the Digimon's response.

"No I-I-I can't I already have a partner, Renamon." Rika weakly called out.

(With Renamon)

Renamon's ears perked up as she somehow heard her tamer's call, "Rika! Where are you?" Renamon asked no one in particular as she jumped to her feet. But then Rika's words from earlier rang through her head, 'I don't need you, I don't need anybody.' "Oh Rika."

(With Rika)

"What have I done?" Rika asked, not really expecting an answer as she reached for her D-Ark.

However the Digimon just wrapped both of its large hands around her, preventing her from moving her arms. "I want to show you something." he said.

"What is it?" Rika asked mindlessly.

"To prove that I'm worthy to be your partner I've set up a little show and tell, so you can see my power for yourself." the Digimon said as he opened his wings somehow brightening up the area to show that the Digital Field they were in was basically a giant ice cavern and inside there were hundreds of frozen Digimon.

(The Outside World)

Both Takato and Henry were running towards the building with the Digital Field on it with their partners by their side. "Come Takato we're almost there." Henry said to the Goggle-wearing tamer.

"I'm hurrying, but hey Henry I gotta ask." Takato said.

"What?"

"Do you have any idea why the hell nobody is noticing the giant dome of ice on top of the build?" Takato asked. Seriously how oblivious could these people get? If it was a normal Digital Field then people can just pass it off as a bit of fog or a low hanging cloud but this is literally a giant fucking dome of ice on top of a fucking skyscraper. How do you not notice that?

"That isn't important Takato, just keep moving." Henry said.

"Yeah you're right." Takato said as they kept running.

(With Rika)

"For years I've hunted hundreds of Digimon and absorbed their data. They were friends to some, maybe even partners." the Digimon said, at this point Rika regained herself and looked around horrified at what she saw. "But as you once said, they are merely stepping stones."

"I never said that." Rika said, trying to deny it.

"Ah but you did. I fight to Digivolve and you make your Digimon do the exact same thing." her captor said.

"No I couldn't see it before, but there's more to Digimon than fighting. I would eat dirt before I let Renamon become what you are, a monster." Rika said disgusted at what she was seeing.

"Better to be a powerful monster than a weak nobody. Is that what you want, too be a nobody?" the Digimon said.

"I'll tell you what I don't want to be and that's to be the partner of some freak show Digimon. You think you know everything there is to know about me, well you don't so why don't you just spit it out horn head what do you want from me?" Rika asked, angry at her situation as she broke free of her captor's grasp.

"If there is one thing I agree about with that hateful blonde friend of yours it's that you have no idea how exquisite you are when you're angry." the Digimon said.

"What are talking about, what do you have against Naruto?" Rika asked, wondering how Naruto fit into all of this.

"You used to be so cold to everyone around you and didn't give anyone the time of day for anything unless necessary, even your own family. But then that insufferable blonde came along and began melting that cold heart of yours. You see I've been searching for a long time for someone with a heart of ice and a will of stone and now my search is over. I want you to be my tamer." the Digimon said, having a crazed look in his eyes. "But first I need you back to the way you were, and in order to do that I must eliminate the blonde bastard that you have so gracefully called here."

"What!" Rika said, now worried for her friend. She knew that this Digimon in front of her was a clearly powerful Champion level Digimon and that Peckmon may not be able to defeat him. "You leave him alone! He has nothing to do with this!" Rika shouted.

"Ah that is where you're wrong Rika, he has everything to do with this. You want to be the strongest Digimon Tamer and I want to be the strongest Digimon, we're perfect for one another but the blonde is in the way and must be removed as well as your current partner." the Digimon said as he grabbed Rika's arm with his massive hand.

"Never!" Rika said defiantly.

"Hmph, are you thinking about that pitiful excuse of a Digimon of yours, Renamon is it? Or are you hoping that the boy shows up to 'rescue' you?" the Digimon asked coldly. Rika just glared at the monster standing in front of her as she reached for her D-Ark. However the white bastard just smirked, "Hmph you've never settled for second best before so why start now? Why waste time on beauty when you can tame the beast? But go ahead summon her, perhaps you need a live demonstration of who the superior Digimon is."

"No way!" Rika said.

"Then I'll just have to call her myself." the Digimon said as he put his index and middle fingers to his forehead and shot a blue light into the air.

(With Naruto)

Naruto was currently running around the city, blindly trying to locate Rika's faint chakra signature. Since his sensory range doesn't cover the entire city and the fact that Rika has never once used her chakra makes it hard for Naruto to get a lock on it. However he stopped when he saw a light shoot straight up in to the air. "That's gotta be it! Damn it, it's all the way on the other side of the city" Naruto said as he began making his way over there as fast as he could. "Hang in there Rika, I'll be there shortly."

(With Takato and Henry)

They finally made it to the building where the Digital Field was and began climbing the stairs to try and get to the roof. When they got to the door that led to the inside of the Digital Field they stopped for a second, "This is it, does anyone have any bright ideas?" Takato asked.

"Just one." Henry said as he began pulling out his glasses while Takato put on his goggles, "Let's try not to get ourselves creamed." With that they went through the door only to find a lot of ice.

"Whoa, who left the freezer on?" Takato asked sarcastically, though wasn't really surprised since they saw from the outside that this was a dome of ice.

"Look over there!" Henry yelled pointing to Rika being held by a Digimon. He quickly pulled out his D-Ark to see what kind of information it had on him. "IceDevimon, whoa he's a Champion level Fallen Angel Digimon."

The now named IceDevimon turned to face the intruders, "And here I thought you didn't have any other friends." he said.

"Let her go now." Takato demanded.

"My new tamer and I were just getting acquainted." IceDevimon said, clearly not taking the hint that Rika was giving him.

"She's not your tamer, Rika has Renamon!" Takato retorted.

"I think it's time for a little upgrade, don't you?" IceDevimon asked cynically.

"Let me go you frozen freak!" Rika demanded.

Takato just turned to Henry asking what they should do, "This isn't going to be easy, he's much stronger than any Digimon we've ever defeated before. What we really need is an effective strategy to deal with him."

Terriermon just nodded, "Like a kick in the pants." he said.

"I wish it were that easy." Henry said.

Takato just looked at his partner, "Ready Guilmon?" he asked. Takato got a nod from his partner, "Ok go get him."

"Ah ready set and go!" Guilmon said before taking off.

"Alright Terriermon give Guilmon a hand." Henry said.

"You don't need to tell me twice." Terriermon said as he also raced towards IceDevimon.

"Goodie goodie time to fight." IceDevimon said before using his Tundra Freeze attack, freezing both Digimon instantly in a block of ice.

"Guilmon/Terriermon" Both Takato and Henry called out respectively.

IceDevimon just started laughing at how easy that was. The boys soon grabbed a hold of anything they could use to try and break the ice. "I hear one becomes quite warm before freezing." IceDevimon said sadistically.

"You're so twisted its sick." Henry said as he swiped a Heat card through his D-Ark hoping to melt the ice but it didn't do a single thing. Takato just kept striking the ice hoping to break it, "I don't get it where the hell is Renamon and Naruto?" Henry asked, not liking the situation they were in.

"Renamon's gone. Even if I called her she wouldn't come." Rika answered.

The two boys however were confused, "But Rika why not and where's Naruto? You two are practically inseparable." Takato asked.

"Oh Rika and Renamon had a little fight, proving she's too weak to handle a tamer like her. As for the blonde, I hope he shows up." IceDevimon said with a malevolent grin on his face scaring the three teens, two of them wondering what he planned to do with Naruto while Rika had a pretty good idea. "Rika you need a partner who understands you, who appreciates you and who craves your cold strength. Embrace the future I offer you!" IceDevimon shouted like the lunatic that he is.

Rika however just closed her eyes in fear, "Renamon, Naruto help me." she said under her breath. And as if some act of Kami there was an explosion revealing a certain yellow kitsune. "I don't believe it." Rika said amazed that Renamon came.

"Ah the infamous Renamon, I'd love to chat but I have to destroy you. Now if only a certain blonde bastard will show up that will really make my day." IceDevimon said malevolently. Renamon though wasn't in a chatting mood and quickly jumped from her spot to use her signature technique. However she was interrupted by her speedy opponent, "Frozen Claw!" He grabbed a hold of her and threw her to the ground. He then continued to lay the beat down on the fox like Digimon. Eventually Renamon collapsed to the ground, unable to continue fighting.

"Rika she needs to Digivolve now!" Takato shouted.

Rika however just looked at Renamon worry etched across her face. _I can't let her Digivolve, she might become just like IceDevimon._ Rika thought to herself. Renamon managed to get herself in to a sitting position. _Forgive me._

"Why do you look at her like that, a Digimon is only good if it can fight. Tell me why do you care for this weak and pathetic creature?" IceDevimon questioned as he mocked Renamon.

"She's my friend, I care because she's my friend." Rika said causing her D-Ark to come to life.

DIGIVOLUTION

"Renamon Digivolve Too…Kyuubimon!"

"Why did you Digivolve?" Rika asked confused about this.

"Fox-Tail Inferno!" Kyuubimon shouted launching her nine fireballs at the icy bastard. IceDevimon though managed to jump out of the way. "Where are you going frosty, Dragon Wheel!"

"Tundra Freeze!" IceDevimon called out as beams of ice shot from his eyes and froze Kyuubimon's attack. "Avalanche Claw!" he shouted as he beat his wings and creating shards of ice that went flying towards Kyuubimon. They continued fighting but Champion level or not the fight just went pretty much the same as before with IceDevimon easily defeating Kyuubimon. In the mean time Henry and Takato managed to free Guilmon and Terriermon by a clever use of the Expansion modify card by Henry.

"Alright now it's our turn!" Takato said, getting ready to join the fight.

"I don't think so boy." IceDevimon mocked as he set his sights on a wounded Kyuubimon who raised one of her tails and attacked the frozen bastard with a very weak and slow Fox Tail Inferno. IceDevimon just tilted his head to the side letting the attack harmlessly pass him. "Now I think it's time I end this." IceDevimon said as he gave a war cry and went to finish of Kyuubimon and absorb her data.

"NO!" Henry and Takato shouted at the same time knowing that they'll never make it in time.

"KYUUBIMON!" Rika cried out in fear.

"YOU'RE FINISHED!" IceDevimon shouted in victory and prepared to impale her with his Frozen Claw.

"I DON'T THINK SO!" shouted a familiar blonde as he kicked IceDevimon in the face sending him flying to the other side of the Digital Field and saving Kyuubimon in the process.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" shouted everyone but IceDevimon as their jaws quickly became acquainted with the ground.

Naruto just turned to his friends, "Yo what's up guys sorry I'm late."

The other tamers and their Digimon were having a hard time comprehending what they just saw. Naruto just KICKED a freaking Champion level Digimon in the face and sent him flying across the Digital Field. Rika however was the first one to recover, "Whiskers thank god you're here. Where's Falcomon?" Rika asked, glad to see her blonde best friend.

"He fell behind so it's just me right now, but don't worry, I'm gonna kick his ass personally." Naruto said stumping everyone there.

"NARUTO YOU FUCKING IDIOT, YOU CAN'T FIGHT A DIGIMON ESPECIALLY A CHAMPION!" Rika shouted.

"I can do a lot of things Rika-chan, and your all about to see exactly what I can do." Naruto said as he turned his attention to IceDevimon with his eyes turning red and his whisker marks thickening. Rika was the only one who saw these changes.

It was at this time that IceDevimon finally regained himself, "So we meet at last, Naruto Uzumaki. I must admit, that was a pretty good kick right there. I'm impressed actually I didn't think a human could actually hurt me."

"Spare me the flattery, I have a bone to pick with you jack ass." Naruto said, his earlier anger returning but in a more controlled fashion.

"Really, well that's a funny coincidence because I have one with you as well." IceDevimon said sadistically.

"Oh and what exactly is this problem that you have with? Please do tell…before I kill you." Naruto said with a dark and serious voice that terrified the others.

"You kill me that's a laugh, as a reward for the joke I'll tell you. You see Rika is the perfect person to be my tamer and help me Digivolve, or rather she was before you came along and started to melt her cold heart. That is my problem with you, you are messing with the only person who is fit to make me the strongest Digimon ever!" IceDevimon shouted, his word laced with hatred for the blonde.

"So that's what this is all about, you want Rika to be your partner only so you can use her for your own selfish desire." Naruto responded, his voice fully also laced with an untold hatred. "You murdered Digimon, you attacked my friends, but worst of all…YOU KIDNAPPED RIKA-CHAN AND FOR THAT I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Rika for her part didn't know what to think, her best friend was threatening to kill somebody because he kidnapped her. _What are you doing Naruto, you can't possible hope to beat him without your partner? And why go so far as to throw your life away for me?_ Rika thought, the poor girl was so confused.

"DON'T YOU DARE THREATEN ME! YOU HAVE NO CHANCE AGAINST ME HUMAN!" IceDevimon shouted as he attacked Naruto "FROZEN CLAW!" IceDevimon shouted as his arm stretched intending to pierce the blonde's heart. Naruto just grabbed IceDevimon's hand and yanked him forward before delivering a devastating right hook to the bastard's face sending him on another flight to the nearest ice wall.

Naruto though didn't follow up with another attack. He just glared at his opponent, "You better come at me with everything you have you icy bastard, because I want you to know one thing before you die. That no matter how strong you are, your power is nothing compared to mine."

"I hate you so much." IceDevimon said as he prepared his next attack.

"The feeling is mutual." Naruto responded.

"TUNDRA FREEZE!" IceDevimon shouted as he shot Naruto with his icy eye beams. Naruto though didn't make an effort to dodge the attack and let it hit him. IceDevimon thinking that he won began laughing like a mad lunatic, so basically his normal laugh. "Hah so much for killing me you arrogant brat, you're nothing but a human. You can't stand up to us Digimon."

"NARUTO!" shouted the tamers but none louder than Rika as tears began forming in her eyes.

However something strange began happening inside the block of ice, an orange light was being emitted before the ice began melting revealing Naruto but there was something drastically different about him. He was glowing with an orange light and his jacket seemed to be replaced by an orange one that was glowing just like his skin. Underneath that jacket Naruto's pants and shirt changed colors to be almost completely black while his shoes took on the orange color as well. He also had the five black balls floating behind him. But the strangest thing was his face and eyes, instead of his eyes being their usual cerulean they were a deep crimson with fox like slits running through horizontal bars like that of a toad. And his whisker marks became solid black bars. This was something that none of them have ever seen before. "Hmph don't celebrate too soon, I haven't even warmed up yet."

Everyone there was stunned by Naruto's transformation. It was something that was out of this world. However it was Rika that was the most affected by this transformation. _What is going on, how is he doing that? Why didn't he tell me he could basically transform into what basically looks like a god, a handsome one too…no no no Rika, this no time for thought's like that. But still why didn't he tell me, I'm supposed to be his best friend or was that all a lie?_ The poor confused girl was now even more confused not to mention depressed that her friendship with Naruto might just be one big fat lie.

Naruto could see even from this distance that his transformation is creating a lot of confusion for Rika and that she is beginning to doubt whether their friendship was real, and that hurt him as well as Rika but now wasn't the time for that.

"You are no regular human, just what the hell are you?" IceDevimon asked, wondering if he was wrong and that maybe this boy would be a better tamer.

Naruto turned his attention back to his opponent, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato, Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, and Hero to the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Not to mention Digimon Tamer and your executioner." Naruto said, increasing the number of questions his friends had for him. "Now fight me with your full power IceDevimon." Naruto demanded.

"As you wish." responded IceDevimon as he absorbed all of the data of the Digimon he captured increasing his strength. Naruto's friends didn't even bother yelling for him to get out of the way since they doubted he'd listen and they were curious to see what Naruto in this form is capable of. With him done loading all of the data he smirked, "I hope you wrote your will boy because today will be the last you ever see." IceDevimon said as he charged the blonde. "Frozen Claw!

Naruto just jumped out of the way and kicked the bastard across the face once again. He then preformed his favorite hand seal, "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Naruto said creating several clones as they all charged IceDevimon and began unleash unholy hell on the bastard.

Rika and the others just could tear their eyes away from the fight. It was then that Peckmon arrived. "Damn that blonde bastard for leaving me behind like that."

"Peckmon, what is going on? How is Naruto doing all of this?" Rika yelled as she faced the blonde's partner seeing as he would likely know.

"Rika, there are some things about Naruto that he hasn't told you yet. And don't go thinking it isn't because he doesn't trust you. It's just that he had no way to approach the topic without looking like he was certifiably insane. His fighting capabilities is one of them." Peckmon said trying to keep the girl's anger towards his friend at a minimum.

"Peckmon why aren't you helping him?" Henry asked.

"Oh please, I'd just get in his way." he said shocking the tamers and their Digimon.

"How strong is Naruto, Peckmon?" this time Guilmon asked.

"Let's just say that in the form you see him in now, he could take on just about any Mega level Digimon." he said getting unbelieving looks from the others.

"There is no way, how can a human be that powerful?" asked Takato.

"Where Naruto comes from, while Naruto would be considered one of the strongest people alive, there are others that are all powerful in their own right. Trust me on this, Naruto's got this. The only Digimon I can think of off the top of my head that Naruto would have to watch out for would probably be the Digimon Sovereign and Fanglongmon-sama himself." Peckmon said getting wide eyed looks from Terriermon and Kyuubimon.

"You mean to tell me that Naruto can fight one of the Sovereign?" Kyuubimon asked.

"Forget the Sovereign, he can fight Fanglongmon-sama. Henry remind me to never piss off Naruto again ok." Terriermon said, not ever wanting to get on the blonde's bad side.

"Who are they? By the sounds of it they're very strong." Takato asked.

"You don't know?!" shouted Terriermon.

"The Sovereign are the guardians of the Digital World, there are four of them and each one protects one of the four quadrants. In all respects they're basically Gods however Fanglongmon-sama is said to be even more powerful than all four of them and over see's their actions." Kyuubimon said.

The tamers then all looked at their blonde friend as he continued kicking IceDevimon's ass. All wondering if what they heard was true.

At the same time as that conversation was going on Naruto was giving IceDevimon the beating of his life. And no matter what he did, he just couldn't hit the blonde bastard. There was one thing though IceDevimon noticed during his smack down, and it was that Naruto didn't even look like he was trying at all. Most of his attacks just had a lazy edge to them and weren't sharp, clean and precise. It just that Naruto's strength so grossly outmatched his that he couldn't block the attacks and had to avoid them. Not only that Naruto kept making copies of himself not to mention there were time's where he'd make strange gestures with his hands and hurl strong gusts, bullets, and sometimes blades of wind at him. How the hell was he doing all of this? "I WILL KILL YOU!" IceDevimon shouted in a fit of uncontrolled rage. "AVALANCHE CLAW!" he shouted.

Naruto however just created a black half-staff from the Godoudama on his back and used it to block each of the ice shards that were launched at him. He then jumped in the air and used the weapon in his hand to smack IceDevimon back to the ground, and continued to float up there much to everyone's amazement. IceDevimon quickly picked himself up and attempted another Tundra Freeze but Naruto just flew out of the way and straight towards IceDevimon. IceDevimon tried to use his Frozen Claw when Naruto got close but Naruto caught it and threw IceDevimon into a nearby wall. Naruto was making this look easy and for him it was. "I think it's about time I end this." Naruto said as he held out his hand and familiar ball of chakra formed in his hand before it started to take on the shape of a shuriken.

It made a pitched noise and causing Terriermon and Kyuubimon to cover their ears in pain. IceDevimon though looked terrified at what he saw, "Wha-What is that?" he asked.

Naruto just smirked, "It's my own original attack, and it's quite the nasty little bugger as your about to find out." It was at this point a disguised clone revealed itself and grabbed a hold of IceDevimon only to fly up and jam his head in the ceiling. "Futon: RasenShuriken!" Naruto called out as he threw the attack at the monster stuck in the ceiling. The explosion it caused was huge, surprising all of the tamers that Naruto could just throw shit like that around like it was nothing. With IceDevimon destroyed the Digital Field disappeared, and Naruto reverted back to his usual form.

"Well he's dead." Naruto said to the tamers, restating the obvious. He then walked up to Rika, "Hey are you alright?"

"I hate them." she said.

"Well he's gone thanks to Naruto." Takato said.

"Not him." she responded confusing them all, "I hate all Digimon." she said surprising the boys and running off.

"Rika wait." Naruto called out but she didn't stop.

They then noticed Kyuubimon taking off as well and they tried to stop her but she just ignored them.

"Great, this day just couldn't get any better." Naruto said sarcastically.

"Yeah, but hey how did you do all of that earlier? That was so awesome." Takato asked excitedly.

Naruto just ran his hand through his hair. "Look guys I'd like nothing more than to answer all of your questions right now, but I want to fix this new problem that popped up with Rika-chan. Also I'd rather tell this to all of you at once so I don't have tell the whole story twice since it's a long one. Think you can hold off on your questions until then?" Naruto asked.

"Just answer us this one for right now." Henry said not leaving room for argument. "Have you been honest with us about who you are and that you consider us your friends or was that all an act?"

Naruto was a little surprised at the blue-haired tamer's question, "Of course I consider you my friends. It's just that there's a lot I have to keep secret because I'm not normal here and I don't want to risk those secrets getting out to much." Naruto said.

Henry just smiled, "That's all I wanted to know, thanks Naruto. Now go help Rika, she looks like she needs it after all she's been through today."

"Thanks Henry, I'll see you guys later." Naruto said as he took off hoping to come up with a way to mend Rika and Renamon's relationship and possibly save his with the girl.

XXX

**A/N: Well that's chapter 11. I thought about doing a cliffhanger right about when Naruto transformed but I didn't want to be mean like that. Anyways let me know what you all think.**

**Also I'm glad everyone enjoyed that last chapter, I was really unsure about it since it was a bit of a risk, but I'm glad it paid off.**

**Another thing, if someone wouldn't mind I'd really like a cover image done for this story. I have absolutely no artistic talent so I can't do it. I just want an image that seems to incorporate both the Naruto aspect of this story and the Digimon aspect. The one I have right now is just Naruto. So if someone could do me that favor I'd be really grateful.**


	12. Truths Revealed

**A Shinobi A Long Way from Home**

_Chapter XII_

_Truths Revealed_

Disclaimer: I don't fucking own Naruto or Digimon

XXX

It was the day after the event involving IceDevimon and Naruto can't help but think of everything that happened yesterday. More importantly he couldn't help but think of how Rika was handling all of this. She was in the direct center of everything that happened and must've been terrified. No fairly normal person can go through all of that and come out all fine and dandy. He didn't count since he was probably the farthest thing from normal in this world as possible. He was already planning to confront Rika about what happened after school today, now if only the damn bell would ring already.

(With Rika)

Class had just ended for Rika and she was on her way to the main gate, half expecting to see a certain blonde there waiting for her with his warm comforting smile just like things used to be. She was almost hoping that would be the case and that the events of yesterday was nothing but a nightmare, but she knew she was just kidding herself. When she reached the gate she was surprised to not see him there waiting for her so she began making her way home. When she got home she announced that she was home and went straight to her room however not before looking around to see if Renamon was actually there. However she was surprised to see who was waiting in her room, "Whiskers, what the hell are you doing in my room?" she asked glaring at him.

Naruto could've made a joke about this but decided that right now he needed to be serious, "Rika you and I need to talk." he said in a no joke manner. Rika was surprised by his tone and the look he gave her. He didn't even refer her as –chan.

"Did Grandma let you in?" she asked.

"No, Seiko-san nor Rumiko-san know that I'm here." he answered.

"How did you get in then?" she asked.

"After what you saw me do yesterday don't you think it's possible that I can sneak into a household without being detected?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

"Fine you have a point, but what did you mean that we have to talk. If it's about the whole 'I hate Digimon' thing then you might as well just leave now. I'm not talking about it." Rika said as she once again glared at the blonde.

Naruto however remained unfazed by the glare, "Rika you and I are going to talk about that right now, I'll drag you out of here kicking and screaming if I have too. So we can do this one of two ways, one you can calmly come along with me to someplace more private so that we can talk about this or option two is that I drag you there myself. Which will it be?" Naruto said to her. He wasn't joking around and usually wasn't this forceful but he needed to try and get Rika and Renamon back together.

Rika for her part was surprised at the seriousness in Naruto's voice, he's never been so demanding of her before and his tone told her that he wasn't kidding and that he would drag her out of here kicking and screaming if need be, might as well save her dignity, "Fine let me just get changed and I'll meet you outside." she said with a scowl.

Naruto nodded before disappearing in a swirl of leaves, once again surprising Rika with what he's capable of. She quickly changed into her street clothes and told her Grandmother that she would be going out for a while. As soon as she got outside she saw Naruto leaning up against the wall waiting for her, "Alright let's get going." Naruto said as he began walking. Rika quickly fell in step with him.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"We're going to the park since that's probably the best place for us to talk without the fear of us being overheard." Naruto answered.

"Whatever, you just better explain to me how it is you did all of that yesterday." Rika said with a glare.

"Don't worry you'll hear everything eventually, but I'd rather have that discussion while Henry and Takato are there, this way I don't have to tell my story twice." Naruto said while still looking ahead.

"Fine." Rika said, at least she'd hear it.

They continued walking in a comfortable silence until they finally reached the park. "Alright, nobody should be around to hear us. So how are you doing after yesterday?" Naruto asked, actual concern filling his voice.

"I'm fine, there's nothing wrong with me." Rika said as she tried to make herself appear strong and unaffected by the events of yesterday.

Unfortunately for her Naruto didn't believe her, "Rika there is no point in lying. No one walks away from what you went through yesterday perfectly fine. And what's this whole 'I hate Digimon' thing?"

"I told you I'm fine. And what is it that you don't get? I. Hate. Digimon." Rika said.

"But why, I mean I know your encounter yesterday with Jack Frost's freaky cousin wasn't your best experience with a Digimon but why hate them all for the acts of just one Digimon?" Naruto asked.

"It's not just one Digimon. There is also Renamon, she never really cared about me. She was just using me to help her get stronger, just like IceDevimon wanted." Rika said, sounding almost hurt by the thought of Renamon using her like that.

"Now that I know for a fact isn't true and you know it as well." Naruto said.

"What makes you so sure?" Rika asked.

"Renamon has risked her life for you several times in order to keep you safe, or have you forgotten the Dokugumon incident when she jumped in front of Dokugumon's attack so it wouldn't hit you?" Naruto asked.

"Of course she'd protect me, I was her best source of power so obviously she wouldn't want me to get hurt." Rika said trying to come up with a way to refute Naruto's point.

"While that is partly true, I still know that wasn't the case. If she really only saw you as her source of power then if she didn't Digivolve she would've seen you as the worthless one and gladly let you die so you'd stop holding her back so she can find another tamer to help her Digivolve. But that isn't Renamon, she saw you as her friend and wanted nothing but for you to see her as the same. She even asked me how I managed to befriend you so fast when she'd been trying to do the same for close to a year will little success." Naruto said, revealing the conversation he had with the yellow furred kitsune.

"Really?" asked a disbelieving Rika.

"Yes really. She truly cared for you and I know that you cared for her as well." Naruto answered with a smile.

_Renamon, did you really see me as your friend? How could you see me like that after the way that I treated you?_ Rika thought as she began to tear up.

Naruto noticed the tears and took that as a good sign, "Rika are you ok?" he asked.

Rika just shook her head, "No, I'm not ok. I don't know what I've done and I'm so scared." Rika said confusing the blonde.

"Scared, what has you so scared?" Naruto asked.

"I'm scared to think that I've lost her forever, and that I'll maybe lose you as well. Just like my father." the now vulnerable girl said as she cried her eyes out.

Naruto quickly pulled the girl into a hug, "Don't you worry Rika-chan, you will never lose me. I'm your best friend and I won't ever leave your side."

_Best friend, is that all I am to him?_ Rika asked herself. "Why?" she asked weakly.

"Why what?" Naruto asked.

"Why do go so far for me, why did you throw yourself into a fight against a Digimon that wanted to kill you just for being my friend? Why do you care so much?" Rika asked, desperately needing answers.

"Because Rika, I'm your best friend. I'd throw myself against Fanglongmon for you because I care." Naruto said honestly.

Rika however stiffened as her heart throbbed in pain. _I'm only his best friend, he doesn't see me like I see him. Why does it hurt so much to know that the man that I have fallen for doesn't return my feelings?_

However Naruto wasn't done and began speaking again gaining her attention as she felt his arms hold her tighter. She then felt Naruto lift her chin up so that she was looking directly into his deep sapphire eyes. "Rika, I'd do anything for you. If it would make you happy you'd just have to say the word. I've fought beings whose strength borders on the line of Godhood, and all of that was to save my world. But if it was for you, I'd fight the armies of Heaven and Hell ten times over if only to see you smile. Rika I'd do all of that and more because I love you." Naruto said, his words holding no lies and spoken with the deepest sincerity that Rika had ever heard.

Those three words kept repeating in her head over and over again. It was as if those three words just shut her brain off except to repeat those words while she just stared at Naruto with her mouth hanging slightly open in surprise. _He loves me, he loves me, HE LOVES ME!_ Rika practically screamed in her head.

Naruto for his part was getting worried that her silence was sign that she didn't feel the same, "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Naruto said as he began releasing his hold on the girl and looked away in shame. However he was surprised when she grabbed a hold of his collar getting him to look directly at her before she crashed her lips into his. Naruto's eyes widened in further surprise before he eventually regained himself and closed his eyes so he could return the kiss. He once again tightened his hold on the girl as he deepened the kiss, neither of them was very experienced at kissing but the passion and love that was exchanged between the two was immeasurable. They finally separated and stared at each other seeing their own reflection in the other's eyes.

"Wow." was all Rika could say. Her mind was still trying to catch up from its earlier shut down.

"Yeah wow." Naruto said, enjoying his first kiss. Technically his second but he will deny kissing Sasuke till his dying breath, besides that wasn't really a kiss, just an unfortunate accident that resulted in their lips making contact, contact that wasn't intentional on either one of their parts.

Rika then decided to close her eyes and rest her head against Naruto's chest so she could listen to his heartbeat. Naruto once again just held the girl even tighter in his arms and all Rika could do was smile. _So this is what it feels like to be a girl and to be truly loved by someone. You know what this feels really nice._ Rika thought as she continued to listen to the powerful beating of Naruto's heart while being held by his powerful arms. Rika could feel so much coming from Naruto, she felt safety, she felt his strength, but most importantly she felt his love for her and that just made the smile on her face even brighter.

(With Renamon)

Renamon was currently looking over Shinjuku, wondering why she felt so empty even though she just managed to defeat three Flybeemon without Rika's help. It was then that she spotted a familiar figure hopping across the roof tops of Shinjuku and so she decided to follow it. She soon came upon the sight of Impmon watching two little kids fight over a stuffed bear. They kept pulling on its arms in a match of tug of war until the bear couldn't take it anymore and tore apart. He began shaking and holding his shoulders before hearing her approach and turning around, "Well what?" he asked.

"What is wrong with you?" Renamon asked.

"Not a damn thing toots now tootles." Impmon said before jumping off. Renamon followed after him into the late afternoon as the sun was setting in the horizon. Impmon eventually got tired of his unwanted guest and decided to ask what she wanted, "Would you quit following me!" Impmon shouted up to her.

"I have a question." Renamon said, letting her reason for following Impmon be obvious.

"And you think I care? Actually I do care. Surprised, I care cause I'm sure it's something stupid." Impmon said as Renamon hopped off of the billboard she was standing on to the railing with perfect grace. Impmon turned, not impressed with her landing, "Hmph, I've learned not to expect much from you human loving Digimon. But maybe there is hope for you yet doll face coming to yours truly so tell me foxy what can I do you for?"

"Why don't you have a partner?" Renamon asked bluntly. Impmon was caught by surprise by the question and almost lost his balance.

She was about to continue her questions but she was interrupted, "You're asking the wrong question Renamon?" said a voice from behind the billboard, a voice that Renamon instantly recognized. Both Renamon and Impmon quickly looked behind the billboard to see a certain blonde leaning up against the billboard with his arms crossed. "Yo." was all Naruto said as he gave a two finger salute.

"What is up with you and eavesdropping on our conversations?!" shouted an annoyed Impmon.

"Sorry not my intention, I really only came here to talk to Renamon but I have some questions for you as well so I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone." Naruto said.

"Naruto, what did you mean when you said that I was asking the wrong question?" Renamon asked, wanting to get down to business.

Naruto just smirked at the yellow fox and said, "The question you should be asking is 'why did Impmon leave his tamer'." Naruto said getting a surprised look from Renamon and a baffled, wide eyed look from Impmon.

"HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY KNOW THAT?!" shouted an enraged Impmon.

Naruto turned to face the purple prankster, "It's your actions and words. When you speak about your hatred for humans you talk as if you have first-hand experience about how some humans are absolute scum. While I have no idea who your tamer is, I do know that he or she mistreated you and you couldn't take it so you left. And then you decided to lash out at humans with pranks, in other words you did the exact same thing as me." Naruto said giving Impmon a meaningful glance.

Impmon was now terrified of the blonde, the way he could read him like an open book scared him out of his mind. But he was also confused by the blondes words, why would humans mistreat him when he is also a human. Renamon however decided it was time for her to ask another question, "If that's the case then how can we Digivolve and increase our power unless we have a partner?" Renamon asked to them both.

Impmon however was annoyed by this question, "Come on you really don't buy into all of that, the power is inside of you forget all of the rest!" he shouted.

"What do you think Naruto?" Renamon asked.

"Well Impmon isn't wrong. The ability to Digivolve is a power every Digimon possess'. However I believe there is something different about tamed Digimon." Naruto said gaining the curiosity of the two Digimon in front of him.

"What do you mean?" Impmon asked.

"I mean that Digimon that have a tamer have a short cut to being able to Digivolve. But the Digimon and their partner need to be in sync with one another and need to have a strong bond so they can draw strength from it. The process of Digivolution for tamed Digimon just goes to show that true strength only comes from wanting to protect those you care about." Naruto said giving his opinion on the subject.

"Pfft, yeah right!" Impmon scoffed.

"Tell me Impmon, can you Digivolve without the help of your tamer? Or how about this, have been able to Digivolve at all?" Naruto asked. Impmon just stiffened at the blonde's question knowing that he hasn't Digivolved once. Not wanting to stick around anymore Impmon just decided to leave so he could go and blow off some steam.

"So Naruto what did you want to talk to me about?" Renamon asked.

"I wanted to ask how you're doing after yesterday." Naruto said.

"I'm doing as well as I can be, though I don't know what to think over what Rika said last night." Renamon said, knowing that there is no point in trying to lie to him.

"You know she still cares about you right, after all you are partners." Naruto said.

"I highly doubt she cares about me anymore, she made it pretty clear she hates Digimon yesterday. Besides I already had this conversation with that blue haired tamer." Renamon said.

"You mean Henry?" Naruto asked, just to be sure he had the right person. He got a nod from Renamon. "I see, well what did he say?"

"He said stuff about he and Terriermon are equals and how they understand one another's strengths and weaknesses. He also went on about how he believes that my partnership with Rika was no accident." Renamon told the blonde.

"Well I gotta agree with him on all counts. What do you think about it though?" Naruto asked.

Renamon however just looked down, "I don't know. This whole situation is really confusing and I don't know whether to believe Impmon and forget about Rika or try and make amends with her."

"Listen Renamon, I can't tell you how to feel or what to do in this situation. This is something that you will have to figure out on your own and live with the consequences of your decision, whether they be good or bad. But I want you to know that Rika still does care about you, and she feels bad for what she said yesterday. I guess all of the stress of yesterday just caught up with her and that was what caused her to say that." Naruto said as he put his hand on the tall foxes shoulder.

"I think I understand what you're saying Naruto but as for Rika still caring about me, I'll have to see it to believe it." Renamon said.

"I understand Renamon, this is something that you and Rika need to resolve. Anyways you didn't hear of the bit about Rika still caring for you from me. Got it." Naruto said.

"I didn't hear what?" Renamon asked in a minor joking tone.

"Exactly." Naruto said with a smirk before disappearing in swirl of leaves.

(Later That Night)

A new Digimon had Bio-Merged and Renamon was the first one there to challenge the newcomer. Soon enough Naruto, Takato and Henry all arrived inside the Digital Field with their partners. Naruto whipped out his D-Ark so he could get a reading on the Digimon in front of them. "Harpymon, an Armor level Digimon with a screech that reminds you of nails on a chalkboard. Her special attack is Wind Seeker."

"Where's Rika?" asked Takato.

"I don't know." Henry said as the two of them looked around for the redheaded tamer.

Naruto however just kept his focus on the fight in front of him. He watched as Guilmon and Terriermon went to join the fight only to be attacked by Harpymon with her Wind Seeker. They managed to get out of the way as the attack scarred the earth in between them. Renamon decided to try and take the opportunity and used her Diamond Storm attack but Harpymon managed to dodge the attack and rushed at Renamon only to get backhanded by the fox. And soon enough Rika arrived with Calumon in tow. "Hey Rika-chan welcome to the party." Naruto said.

Everyone for the most part began celebrating, "Hey Renamon guess who finally decided to show up." Terriermon called out to the yellow fox.

Renamon gave Rika a quick glance before jumping up and punching Harpymon in the face. Following up with a reverse spin kick to knock her to the ground, however what Renamon did next confused everyone there. She just stood there like a statue pondering what the point of all this was. She then closed her eyes to think about this even more, "IDIOT DON'T DROP YOUR GUARD!" shouted Naruto. But his warning came too late as Renamon took a direct hit from Harpymon's Wind Seeker.

"No Renamon!" shouted Rika as she saw Harpymon try and use her talons to stomp Renamon out of existence however Renamon kept rolling out of the way. Rika reached for a card but felt nothing. It was then that she remembered that she forgot her deck back at her house. Rika quickly looked around for something she could use to help Renamon but it was then that she saw something being handed to her. She looked and saw Naruto was handing her a knife of some kind, one that looked like a ninja would use. She saw Naruto give her a warm smile before she took the knife and ran straight at Harpymon and stabbed her in the back. Harpymon quickly turned around to face the girl that harmed her and was about to kill her.

"Rika no!" shouted Takato.

"Naruto save her!" Henry demanded.

Naruto was about to jump in and end the fight but a red glowing light stopped him and made him smile.

DIGIVOLUTION

"Renamon Digivolve Too…Kyuubimon!"

Kyuubimon quickly cut Harpymon off from Rika and Harpymon flew back to gain some distance.

"Wind Seeker!" shouted Harpymon as she prepared for her next attack.

"Fox Tail Inferno!" Kyuubimon called out her own attack and managed to fire it off far faster than Harpymon. Getting nine direct hits and destroying Harpymon. However she decided to not load her data.

"You aren't going to load her data?" asked Rika. All she got was a simple 'no' from Kyuubimon. "But why not?"

"Because I don't need it anymore." Kyuubimon said.

"I don't understand." Rika said.

"Rika you just saved my life, why did you do it?" Kyuubimon asked.

"Someone had to do it, you saved my life before." Rika said getting Naruto to palm his face.

"You were just repaying a debt?" asked Kyuubimon.

"N-No that's not what I meant. You're my partner. No that's not it either, you're my friend Kyuubimon and I'm sorry for what I said yesterday." Rika said as she looked away, finding it very hard to be this open with others watching her.

Kyuubimon just smiled, "And that's what friends do, we protect each other?"

Rika just smiled and nodded, "Yeah, we'll watch each other's backs from now on."

Meanwhile their spectators minus one blonde was confused, "Uh I don't get it. What just happened?" Takato said.

Henry decided to answer, "It was obvious they were worried about each other, the problem is that they're both too hard headed to admit it."

"Huh, being honest with each other would just be too hard." Takato joked, getting the group to laugh.

"Yeah no kidding, now I believe I owe you all some answers." Naruto said gaining the groups attention.

"Oh yeah." Takato said remembering the blonde's promise to tell them all about his powers after things with Rika and Renamon patched over.

"Yeah, however it's late, so why don't we meet up at my place tomorrow and I'll tell you everything there ok." Naruto said, getting a nod of understanding from the rest of the tamers and their partners. Naruto gave the tamers his address before they all split up for the night with Naruto opting to walk Rika home, "You know Rika-chan, I'm proud of you for doing what you did back there for Renamon." Naruto said as he took a hold of her hand.

Rika blushed, "Yeah well, someone had to do something and she is my partner so I was the only one who needed to save her." she said as she entangled her fingers with his and walked closer to him. The two of them walked in a comfortable silence and once they were at her front door they gave each other a kiss goodnight before splitting up.

Rika walked into her house with an honest to god smile on her face and a spring in her step. Something that Seiko could spot form a mile away and immediately knew why her granddaughter was smiling so much. She however decided not to interrupt Rika's moment of bliss and content and simple looked out the window where she saw a certain blonde making his way home. "Thank you Naruto-kun, for returning my granddaughter's feelings for you." she said under her breath as she headed to her room for the night.

(The Next Day – Naruto's Apartment)

The whole group had gathered at Naruto's place as early as possible, considering it was the weekend they didn't have to worry about school. "Alright, so now that everyone is here I guess it's time for us to head to the place where this entire chat will take place." Naruto said confusing everyone.

"What do you mean, I thought we were gonna talk here. If we aren't talking here then why didn't we meet up at the spot you wanted to talk to us at?" Henry asked.

"Don't worry Henry, we aren't actually leaving my apartment. However I just figured that in order for you to believe what I'm about to say you may need some visual proof so we'll be talking in my mindscape." Naruto said.

"Your what?" asked Takato.

"Listen this will all make sense soon, just make sure that you're all connected to me." Naruto said as he sat down on the floor in the middle of all of them. Rika didn't hesitate and placed her hand on Naruto's head while the two boys placed a hand on his shoulders. The Digimon just put a hand on their tamers while Falcomon put his hand on Naruto's back. With everyone connected they soon felt as if they were being pulled into something but not actually moving. They all soon closed their eyes and when they opened them back up again they saw they were in what looked like a sewer.

"Where are we?" asked Takato.

"I have no idea." answered Henry.

"Welcome everyone to my mind." said a voice behind them as they turned around and saw Naruto standing there.

"What do you mean your mind Whiskers?" Rika asked.

"It's just as it sounds Rika-chan, I've pulled your consciousness into my mind as well as the Digimon's. Here I will answer all of your questions." Naruto said.

"Naruto your mind is a dump." Terriermon said.

"Terriermon." Henry said in that tone of voice again.

"What, you have to agree with me. His mind is a sewer." Terriermon said.

"Don't worry Henry, he isn't the first one to say that. Besides this place is the cleanest sewer you'll ever see." Naruto said. It was then that a loud rumbling could be heard.

"What was that?" asked Rika.

"Oh that was Kurama, probably just waking up. Lazy bastard." Naruto said.

**"****I heard that!"** roared a new voice that the tamers and their Digimon were unfamiliar with. It was then that they saw a giant orange-reddish fox with nine tails come around the corner. **"Oi kit, what's up with the guests?"** Kurama asked Naruto while the tamers and their Digimon looked positively freaked out.

"I thought I told you this already, I'm going to be telling them about me and my powers and where I come from. Don't you ever pay attention?" Naruto asked.

**"****Nope, was too busy napping."** Kurama said.

"Again I say it, lazy bastard. Sometimes I can't decide who is lazier you or Shikamaru." Naruto said.

It was at this point that the tamers regained themselves, "Naruto, what is going on. What is up with the giant fox?" Henry asked.

Naruto just rubbed the back of his head, "Well guys I'd like you to meet Kurama, he's been a part of me since the day I was born."

"He's been a part of you, what do you mean?" Rika asked.

**"****It's just like the kit says, I'm a part of him. Without me, he couldn't live."** Kurama said.

That surprised everyone there minus Falcomon since he already knew of his tamers tenant and his dependence on his power to live. He then decided he might as well introduce himself to the fox, "Hi there Kurama, I'm Falcomon. It's nice to finally meet you."

**"****You as well Falcomon, and it's interesting to meet all of you as well Takato, Guilmon, Henry, Terriermon, and most importantly Rika and Renamon."** Kurama said enjoying the freaked out looks on their faces that he knew each of them already.

"How do you know who we are?" Renamon asked.

**"****It's simple, when I want to I can experience everything the kit experiences and I've seen you all in your fights and various conversations. However the kit here can cut the link to his senses whenever he wants."** Kurama said.

"Very interesting." Renamon said.

"Alright, now that everyone has been introduced I will begin telling my story so please hold all questions until the end." Naruto said getting a nod from all of them. With that Naruto told them everything, from the time of his birth, his childhood, his Academy days, those insufferable D-Ranks and hated cat, his first C-Rank mission, the Chunin Exams, Sasuke's defection, the Akatsuki, Orochimaru, the death of Jiraiya and his fight with Pain, his parents, the war and his final battle with Sasuke which led him here. While he was telling them about all of this he also showed them several of his experiences and they were utterly amazed at the world they saw through Naruto's eyes. Once Naruto finished his story he decided to ask if they had any questions.

"So you're really from another dimension entirely?" Takato asked.

"Yup." Naruto said.

"You told us at one point that you can't go home, how come?" Henry asked since Naruto didn't show them his encounter with Fanglongmon so they didn't hear his explanation.

"Well you see, during my fight with Sasuke he and I began pouring the special charka that we got from the Old Sage dude into our final attacks. When they clashed they ripped open the portal you saw me get dragged into that sent me here. So because I'm missing Sasuke's Yin Chakra to create another portal I can't go back. Besides odds are that I just might end up getting stuck in another dimension. Besides if I had the opportunity to go home I don't think I'd take it." Naruto said.

"Why?" asked Takato.

"Oh I have my reasons." Naruto said as he sent a quick but meaningful glance towards Rika. Rika caught it and was glad to know that he wouldn't leave her. But she couldn't help but think back to everything she'd seen and heard. When Naruto told her and her grandmother about the hard life he's lived, she'd thought she'd known exactly what he went through but that only turned out to be the G rated not to mention watered down version of it. The things that she saw the villagers put him through made her so angry that Takato and Henry could feel the outright rage and killing intent radiating off her. Hell even the ever dense and clueless Guilmon could feel it. But something was bugging her a bit.

"Hey Whiskers, how come you looked older during your time in the war?" Rika asked.

Naruto just looked down, "To be honest, I'm not really fourteen. I'm seventeen however when I was transported to the Digital World after my fight with Sasuke my body took a massive amount of damage. Most of it would be irreversible unless Kurama was awake but he wasn't. However I was found by Falcomon and he took me back to his village so I could get the medical treatment that I desperately needed. After I woke up I was soon taken to see Fanglongmon along with Falcomon." Naruto said getting surprised looks from every single one of them.

"YOU ACTUALLY MET FANGLONGMON-SAMA!" Terriermon shouted.

"Yes I did, and he is definitely one of the strongest beings I've ever seen." Naruto said.

"Wait you fought him?" asked Takato.

"No, I was in absolutely no condition to fight him. But just by being in his presence I could feel his power and let me tell you something, do not piss him off. He is the God of the Digital world for a reason." Naruto said.

"I see." Takato said.

"Well anyways back to the story, once I had my answers that Fanglongmon generously gave to me he told me of the amount of damage I had taken through my continuous string of fights during the war. He told me that if left unchecked that soon the damage would eventually hurt me more in the future so he told me that the best way for him to fix it was for him to revert my body back to that of a fourteen year old for a couple of reasons. One my chances of meeting up with you guys would increase if I was the same age as you, and two it would give me more time to adapt and get the full experience of what it's like to live in this world." Naruto said.

"That makes sense I guess." Rika said as she tried to absorb everything she was being told. It still didn't change how she felt about him, so what if he was mentally three years older than her. It still didn't change who he is. They continued asking questions and Naruto managed to answer them all, however there was one person there that had a question for the blonde.

**"****Oi kit I have a question for you, are you going to train them to use chakra?"** Kurama asked.

The three tamers were all surprised by the giant fox's question, and were now wondering if it was possible for them to learn how to do what Naruto can do and all of them looked at him expectantly.

XXX

**A/N: Here is chapter 12 for all of you. Sorry it took me so long to get this one out. I've been busy playing my new Pokemon Omega Ruby not to mention work has started to get in the way.**

**Now I've been undecided about this little fact for a while now, so I thought eh what the hell lets see what you want. So do you want the tamers to learn how to use Chakra, Yes or No. Let me know in the comment section since I WON'T be posting a poll about it.**

**Anyways I won't be updating for at least a few days since I'm going up to my cousins for Thanksgiving, for those who know what that is, for a few days and won't have my computer.**

**That's it for today, don't forget to leave a comment to let me know what you think and for your vote about them being taught Ninjutsu.**


	13. A Song from the Heart

**A Shinobi A Long Way from Home**

_Chapter XIII_

_A Song from the Heart_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Digimon

**A/N: I want to thank all of those who gave me their opinion on whether the Tamers should learn Chakra or not. When I eventually counted them up the tally was 23 to 16 in favor of the Tamers learning to use chakra. Now I hope this doesn't deter those of you who said 'No' from reading as I saw a few of you had some valid reasoning. The most popular was no Shinju no Chakra. I already have an idea to cover this little problem.**

XXX

**"****Oi kit I have a question for you, are you going to teach them to use chakra?"** Kurama asked.

The three tamers were surprised by the giant fox's question, and were now wondering if it was possible for them to learn how to do what Naruto can do and all of them looked at him expectantly. Naruto however just gave them his mischievous smirk, "Well that depends Kurama."

"Depends on what?" Rika asked.

"It depends on whether you all want to learn how to harness your chakra. It also depends if I find you deserving to learn some of the techniques of my people since they are dangerous and powerful abilities and if the wrong people learn them then it could spell disaster for a great many people." Naruto said with a very serious edge to his voice.

The tamers were surprised at his response, finding that he may not teach them due to them not being deserving to learn what he knows. "What do we have to do for you teach us?" asked Henry.

Naruto just continued to stare intensely at the three of them before answered, "If you wish to learn what I have to offer you must first tell me your reasons for why you want this power and if your answers aren't to my satisfaction or if you lie then I will reject you on the spot and not even consider training you at any point in the future. And believe me, I'll know if you lie." Naruto finished intensifying his look towards them as he said this in a no nonsense tone.

The three tamers all looked at each other, wondering what the others were thinking. It was a solid ten minutes of silence and thinking before each of the tamers came to a decision. "So what have you all decided, we'll start with you Henry." Naruto said.

"I want you to train me, I want to do everything in my power to be able to protect my little sister. She looks up to me as her role model and I never want to see her hurt." Henry said.

Naruto gave no indication of whether he approved of Henry's reasoning or not, he just turned to Takato and signaled him to give his answer, "I also want you to train me Naruto. I want to do anything I can to protect my home and my friends."

Once again Naruto said or did nothing to give the tamers any indication of what he thought which was beginning to worry them. Naruto then turned his gaze towards Rika finally wanting to hear her answer, "I also want to learn how to fight like you Naruto, when I saw you and Renamon fight against that frozen freak just to protect me because I couldn't protect myself was a terrifying experience. I was so worried for the both of you that I'm not sure what I'd do if something happened to you two, I never want to go through something like that again. I not only want to be able to protect myself but both of you and my family as well. So please, teach me what you know." Rika practically begged.

Naruto once again kept a neutral expression as he lowered his head in thought with his bangs shadowing his eyes. He stood like that for a good minute before looking back up with a smile on his face, "You all pass." Naruto simply said gaining looks of excitement from his fellow tamers now pupils. "I'm glad to see that you all want this power for the right reasons." Naruto said gaining looks of confusion from the others.

"What do you mean?" Takato asked.

Naruto looked towards the goggle-wearing tamer as he answered his question, "Well you see Takato there are people out there that want power but for the wrong reasons and will hurt other people with that power. Usually to subjugate them or they'll do it just for kicks. Whatever the reason I wanted to make sure that you wouldn't abuse what I want to teach you and hurt anybody and only use it to protect those you care about. Otherwise I may be forced to take extreme measures to ensure that you were stopped." Naruto said making his point and the consequences for betraying this trust he is putting in them very clear. "But so long as you only use this power to protect then everything will be just fine, so I will give you all the rest of today to relax because starting tomorrow you will all be joining me together in hell." Naruto said with a smile as he kicked everyone out of his mindscape.

Once everyone was out they noticed that hardly an hour went by and they were all in the same position as they were before. With that they all withdrew their hold on the blonde allowing him to stand up. "So if we aren't going to start training today what are we gonna do?" Takato asked.

Naruto just shrugged, "That's up to you. Today is your last free day so spend it wisely." The three tamers just nodded. Henry and Takato soon left Naruto's apartment, Takato decided to hook up with Kazu and Kenta while Henry decided to go home and get on his computer. Rika was about to leave as well when she felt Naruto put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey Rika-chan, how would you like to go on a date today since I guarantee that you'll be way too tired to do it anytime in the near future."

Rika was taken aback a little by Naruto's request but a smile soon spread across her face. "Sure, I'd like that. Do you have any ideas?" she asked.

"Well there is a fair going on, I've never really been to one before so I thought maybe we could go there." Naruto asked since this was basically a spur of the moment request and didn't really have time to make plans.

Rika just nodded and the new couple soon began heading towards the fair in a comfortable silence just enjoying the time they have together. When they got to the fair they quickly noticed that it was bustling with activity. They soon got their wristbands that allowed them to get on every ride for free for the entire day, which wasn't cheap. However they'd still have to pay to participate in any of the games that was being offered, damn con artists. "So Rika-chan what do you suggest we do first?" Naruto asked.

Rika looked around and saw that they had Bumper Cars, she quickly pointed to them and the two got in line. Which wasn't terribly long, it was only about a twenty minute wait until it was finally their turn. Both of them hopped in their own car, the competitive nature of them both absolutely forbid them from sharing a car. They spent the next ten minutes just driving around smashing into anyone and everyone. But they especially targeted each other with smiles on their faces. Naruto at one point was hit on all sides trapping him in between four different people. Luckily for him time ran out not to long after that so he wasn't trapped for long. Everyone soon climbed out of their cars and headed for the exit talking about how much fun they had or which ride they go on next. "Man that was fun." Naruto said, knowing that his world didn't have stuff like that even though he had never been to a fair.

"Yeah I have to admit that was fun." Rika said as she looked around for something else they could do.

"Hey what about that one?" Naruto asked as he pointed towards a ride with people spinning the teacups they were sitting in.

"Yeah sure why not." Rika said as the two got in line. As soon as it was their turn they got in their teacup one other person joined them and all of them agreed to spin the teacup as fast as possible. Although Rika was a bit concerned, wondering how fast Naruto could spin it just by himself considering how strong he is. Once the ride started the three of them began spinning the teacup and must have set the record for spinning one since just about everything was a blur around them. Everyone who was watching were amazed at how fast it was spinning and all thought the same thing, _those kids are gonna be puking their guts out once they get off._ Well they were mostly right. Rika and the other boy who joined them looked like they were about to hurl while Naruto looked just fine. Since Rika wasn't feeling so well they decided to sit down to let her queasiness pass.

Once she was feeling better they decided to hold off on the rides for the time being and play a few of the games. Some of the games included ring tossing, dart tossing which Naruto excelled at, a game similar to wheel of fortune which Naruto won every time much to everyone's surprise. He won so much that eventually the guy running the stand had to force him to leave. After playing some of the games which Naruto practically dominated all of them thanks to either his shinobi training or his ungodly luck, much to Rika's amusement. They decided to sit down and have a snack. They shared some cotton candy that one of the vendors was selling which Naruto loved. Naruto wasn't the only one enjoying himself, Rika was having so much fun that she couldn't remove the smile on her face even if she tried. Normally she'd avoid places like this but Naruto just made everything not only bearable for her but fun as well.

Once they finished with their cotton candy they decided to look around for anything else that might be of interest to them when all of a sudden Naruto caught sight of a stage with someone doing karaoke and he just knew what he wanted to do next. "Hey Rika-chan lets do that one." Naruto said pointing to the stage.

Rika looked and immediately scowled, "No." was her quick answer.

"What why not?" Naruto asked.

"Because I hate singing." she answered.

"Oh come on Rika-chan, I'm sure you have a wonderful singing voice." Naruto said trying to get her to get up on stage. "Or maybe you have stage fright is that it Rika-chan?" he teased.

Rika just turned her head to the side so Naruto wouldn't see her blush, "I'm not afraid of anything, I just don't like singing." she said.

"Look Rika-chan we can do this one of two ways, either A: you get your cute ass up on that stage and sing or B: I tickle you here relentlessly in front of everyone. Either way I win." Naruto said with a mischievous smile.

Rika just had a look of horror cross her face, "You wouldn't."

"Oh believe me, I would. So what's it going to be, if it makes you feel any better I was planning to go up there myself." Naruto said hoping to convince the girl to go for option A.

Rika however just glared at her blonde boyfriend, "I hate you so much." Rika said resigning to her fate agreed to go and sing. Not like she had much of a choice.

"I love you too Rika-chan." Naruto said with an amused grin on his face. With that they both signed up for the karaoke with Naruto going first. Some of the people who went up were clearly terrible singers while others weren't bad but when they tried dancing to the music they failed horribly. Which in the end was just hilarious to watch by the time it was Naruto's turn he saw that everyone got a randomly generated song and that the lyrics would be in front of him in case he didn't know the song. He soon grabbed the mic and smirked at the title of the song.

[Kick It Up – Paul Gordon Version]

_If we take our time,  
>and we stick together,<br>everything we do,  
>will go our way.<em>

_And if we try,  
>now and forever,<br>no matter what comes next,  
>we'll be okay.<em>

_Let's kick it up,  
>and show them all the things,<br>that we can do!  
>Let's kick it up!<br>Another notch tomorrow!  
>Let's kick it up,<br>cause they ain't seen the last,  
>of me and you!<br>Let's kick it up!  
>Together!<br>Together!_

_I realize,  
>what's on the surface,<br>ain't picture perfect,  
>but that don't mean a thing.<em>

_One thing I know,  
>is there's a purpose,<br>and like the circus,  
>we're hanging from the rings.<em>

_Let's kick it up,  
>and show them all the things,<br>that we can do!  
>Let's kick it up!<br>There's not that much tomorrow.  
>Let's kick it up,<br>cause they ain't seen the last,  
>of me and you!<br>Let's kick it up!  
>Together!<br>Together!_

_Nananana! Yeah! Nananana! Yeah! Nananana!_

_One, Two, Three! Four!_

_(Instrumental break)_

During this part of the song Naruto really started getting into it along with the crowd that was listening. Most of them were clapping with the rhythm of the music.

_If we take our time,  
>and we stick together,<br>everything we do,  
>will go our way.<em>

_I have no doubt,  
>in this situation,<br>and then we'll enjoy,  
>another day.<em>

_Let's kick it up,  
>and show them all the things,<br>that we can do!  
>Let's kick it up!<br>Another notch tomorrow!  
>Let's kick it up,<br>cause they ain't seen the last,  
>of me and you!<br>Let's kick it up!  
>Together!<br>Together!_

_Let's kick it up,  
>and show them all the things,<br>that we can do!  
>Let's kick it up!<br>Another notch tomorrow!  
>Let's kick it up,<br>cause they ain't seen the last,  
>of me and you!<br>Let's kick it up!  
>Together!<br>Together!_

As soon as the song ended Naruto received a standing ovation, not that hard since everyone was already standing, but the round of applause he got made him feel great. While he would admit he wasn't the best of singers he wasn't the worst and could sing a few songs. Luckily that last song was one of the few that was within his capabilities. Naruto than waved and gave his thanks through the mic before he handed back to the MC who was in charge of this attraction. The MC quickly asked for another round of applause for Naruto as he walked off stage which the crowd had no problem complying with. Once they were settled down he then called up Rika who was directly after Naruto. She was quickly handed the mic as she waited to see what her randomly generated song would be.

[Crossing Fields – Sword Art Online Op1 (AmaLee Version)]

_I was never right for the hero type of role_

_I admit it_

_With my heart shivering in fear _

_I can see today's reflected in each past tear_

_Even so_

_It has been calling the heavens close to me_

_But I cannot hide_

_All the emptiness inside_

_My fleeting heart_

_Once in my dreams_

_I rose and soared_

_No matter how I'm knocked around_

_Or beaten down_

_I will stand up, restored_

_All of my love_

_Has yet to wake_

_I know your strength is what I lack_

_You've got my back_

_And know that I've got yours_

_I have you to thank_

_For lighting up the dark_

_Because you're here with me_

_Our dreams will soar free_

_Forever_

_(I wanna always be with you_

_I give you everything I have)_

_I could never find light to guide me through the night_

_And with one touch_

_I'd recall every memory_

_All too precious to not hold them all close to me_

_It's tempting to close your eyes_

_And turn from the world_

_But it's bittersweet_

_Like you somehow missed a beat_

_With no restart_

_When every wish has overlapped_

_You'll realize if you carry on_

_With every dawn_

_Your hesitation fades_

_All of your scars will disappear_

_I will become your sword and shield_

_This Crossing Field's the path that we select_

_The promise that we made will last for all our days_

_If it's our bonds we live by_

_I will put my_

_Faith in you_

_I only need one miracle_

_Can you not hear me_

_Call at all_

_Until that day_

_I'll keep screaming your name_

_Once in my dreams_

_I rose and soared_

_No matter how I'm knocked around_

_Or beaten down_

_I will stand up, restored_

_All of my love_

_Has yet to wake_

_I know your strength is what I lack_

_You've got my back_

_And know that I've got yours_

_I have you to thank_

_For lighting up the dark_

_Because you're here with me_

_Our dreams will soar free_

_Forever_

_(I wanna always be with you_

_I wanna hold you tight right now_

_I swear that I'll be who you choose_

_I'll give you everything I have)_

Once Rika finished the song there was a brief moment where not a sound could be heard, but it quickly passed as the crowd erupted into a thunderous applause. The crowd absolutely loved her, she had an unbelievable singing voice. In fact if there was a talent agent in the crowd they were sure he'd be approaching Rika for her voice. Rika blushed a bit at the crowd's reaction to her performance with most of the people calling for an encore. Rika however would have to disappoint them as she wanted to get off that stage as soon as possible, she quickly apologized to the crowd and got a few groans of disappointment and handed the MC the mic back who once again called for another round of applause for Rika which was just as loud as the last one.

Rika finally managed to get off the stage and found Naruto not to far from the exit staring at her in utter amazement. "Wow Rika-chan, I was right you do have a beautiful singing voice."

Rika blushed a bit once again at the compliment she receive from her blonde boyfriend, "Thanks, you didn't do too bad yourself."

"Eh I got lucky, that just happened to be a song I could actually sing. Most songs out there are practically impossible for me to get right. However I'm curious about something, why did you say you hate singing? You're clearly very talented, I'm positive you could make it as a singer with your voice so why do you hate it so much?" Naruto asked the obvious question on his mind.

Rika however looked down, "I didn't always hate singing. I used to sing all the time as a little girl."

"Then what happened?" Naruto asked.

"My father." answered Rika cryptically.

"Your father." Naruto repeated, surprised that he was involved somehow considering this is the first time Rika has ever mentioned him. Naruto knew that something happened to her father which gave birth to Rika's Ice Queen persona only for it to be strengthened by the neglect of her mother. Naruto only knew this because he connected the dots about why Rika or anyone in her family never mentioned her father and why he was never around. Hell he couldn't even find a picture of the man anywhere in the house.

"Yes, you see my father was a truly great man. He worked in the military and was doing pretty well for himself and was quickly rising through the ranks. However due to his posting in the military there were times where he was gone for extended periods of time, sorta like my mother. However when he was around he focused all of his attention on me and my mother. To him nothing was more important. Often times he would take me to the park and would push me while on the swings while I sang." Rika said as she now began to tear up as her father was a very sore subject for her.

"What happened?" Naruto asked already having a pretty good idea.

"I couldn't have been much older than five at the time, my father took me out to a restaurant for my birthday. My mother was out in London at the time for another one of her shoots. It was such a nice day out and we decided to walk to the restaurant, well on our way home we got stopped by this thug with a gun who wanted my father's money. Since my father was unarmed and I was standing right behind him he didn't want to chance me accidently getting hurt had he tried to subdue the guy, so he went along with the demands. However the creep soon noticed me and demanded for my father to hand me over as well." Rika said as she recalled her worst memory ever.

Naruto was of course surprised at that demand and could think of only two reasons why the thug would want her. One of them pissed him off to no extent. "Did he say why he wanted you?"

Rika just nodded, "When my father demanded to know why, the creep just said that he could tell that with proper 'training' I could grow up to be the perfect 'woman'." She spat those words out with so much venom and disgust that one would think that if you held your hand out you could physically catch it. "Apparently I learned that the asshole was part of a human trafficking organization that kidnapped girls very young so they could be bread into the perfect slaves, from what I was told those kinds of girls went for very high prices since they were literally raised for nothing else but that." Rika said as she held herself and shivered knowing how close she was to becoming something like that. "Fortunately I was too young at the time to understand what the creep meant."

Naruto however was very tempted to hunt down this specific organization and tear them all to shreds. His anger spiked and even new height, one that completely dwarfed the one he felt for IceDevimon. Naruto's eyes had turned a deep crimson and his whisker marks thickened showing that he was unintentionally channeling Kurama's chakra. It took a lot of effort but Naruto eventually managed to calm down enough that he could ask his next question, "So what happened next, did your dad fight him?"

Rika once again nodded, "Yeah, once my dad heard what the creep intended to do with me he went ballistic. He tackled the guy to the ground and started to beat the living crap out of him. I on the other hand ran behind a nearby light post and watched as my dad kept punching the guy. However the guy managed to shove my dad off of him and pointed the gun at my dad. I quickly ran out to help my dad but the thug pulled the trigger and shot my dad close to the heart. He was about to pull the trigger again when someone else came by and tackled him to the ground. A few more people showed up as well and held the guy down as someone called for an ambulance. However I wasn't paying attention to any of this, my focus was on my father who was bleeding out at the moment." Rika said in full blown tears.

Naruto quickly pulled her into a hug wanting to let her know that he was here for her and that it was okay to cry. Luckily for them no one was around to overhear this very private conversation. The moment she felt Naruto pull her into a hug Rika quickly buried her face into his chest and cried. She's been living with this event on her mind everyday for the past nine years. Naruto just held her tight and rubbed her back, doing whatever he could to help her. It took a bit but soon Rika managed to calm down. Once Rika had calmed down enough Naruto decided to ask another question, wanting her to tell him everything so she can finally begin to heal from this incident. "There is something I don't understand though, how does this incident make you hate singing?"

Rika just hiccupped a bit before answering as she wiped away the tears in her eyes, "You see my dad loved to hear me sing, and at the same time I loved singing for him. My dad had a bit of a passion for music growing up so when he found out my natural talent for singing he wanted to hear and help me develop my singing voice. But when he was bleeding out he knew that he wasn't going to make it so he asked me to sing him one last song, which I did. After that I never sang again until you forced me to earlier." she finished with a light glare, still not all that happy about being forced to sing.

Naruto for his part looked a little ashamed of what he did, "I'm sorry Rika-chan. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories when I asked you to sing earlier. It just seemed like something fun for us to do. Had I known I would've never suggested it."

Rika just sighed, "I know, it's not your fault. I know that you would never intentionally do something like that." Rika once again pressed herself closer to Naruto needing all of the comfort she could get. Naruto tightened his hold on the red head wanting nothing more than to protect her and to never see her cry again. It was at this moment that a memory long forgotten appeared in her mind.

(Flashback)

_"__Daddy…Daddy please be okay please say something." cried a five year old Rika as she just finished singing her father another song._

_Her father gave a weak smile, "That was…beautiful Rika…I know that…this is…a sad day…for you but…please keep that song…close to your heart…and one day…there will…be a boy who…will care for you…deeply…so please… share it with that boy…please let that…boy know…how much you…care about him…by singing that song for me…please promise me this."_

_Rika quickly nodded her head, "I promise daddy." Rika said with tears running down her face._

_"__Thank you…Rika…I…love…you." said her father as he drew his last breath with a smile that told everyone that he was at peace._

(End Flashback)

Rika remembered her promise to her father, it was the last promise she made to him before he died and it was one that she will honor. She then pulled herself back from Naruto and looked up at him. The boy had done so much for her and she owes him so much that she was unsure if she would ever be able to properly thank him. And she also knew that he was the one, he was the one that her father spoke of, who he wanted her to sing her most precious song to. "Naruto, there is something that I want you to hear, will you please listen to it?" she asked.

Naruto just smiled down to her, "I'll listen to anything you say Rika, so what do you need to tell me?"

"It's not something that can be said, only sung. It's my most precious song. The same song I sung to my father right before his passing, the same song that he wanted me to sing to you." Rika said with a soft smile on her face.

"To me?" Naruto asked, confused about her choice of words.

Rika nodded, "Yes to you, I think in his last moments my father knew about you and wanted me to sing you this song." she said, honestly believing that her father knew about Naruto and that he would one day enter her life.

Naruto accepted what she thought, hell weirder shit has happened to him, "Well I anxiously await to hear your song Rika-chan." Rika just smiled as she left Naruto's arms so she could sing this song properly.

_Promise that we'll stay for the sunset_

_And when the moon shines through the darkness_

_We can find the path that leads us home_

_And on the way you'll maybe_

_Sing me a song_

_Promise that you always will be there_

_Hold my hand_

_If ever I'm real scared_

_Help me stand up tall if I fall down_

_Make me laugh away all my bluest days_

_How could you promise you always would be there_

_Why'd you have to go away some where_

_Every morning into every night_

_Do you watch over me like the sun in the sky_

_Am I all alone of standing in your life_

_I wish I could maybe_

_Sing you a song_

_Tonight_

_You promised me we'd stay for the sunset_

Naruto listened as Rika finished up her song and was once again amazed at her voice. The song was absolutely beautiful, and he was one of the privileged few that heard it. "That was absolutely beautiful Rika-chan. I can only hope your father passed on in peace after hearing such an amazing song."

Rika blushed once again, "Thank you Naruto. That really means a lot to me."

"You're welcome Rika-chan." Naruto said as they hugged each other one more time and shared a quick but passionate kiss before going back to enjoy the fair.

A few hours later they both decided it was time to go home, but before they did Rika said that she needed to stop somewhere first. The place she stopped by was none other than her father's grave. She asked Naruto to be left alone for the time being, needing this time for just her and her father. "I found him dad, I found the boy you were talking about all of those years ago. I even shared my song with him like you wanted. I'm sure you'd approve of him he's kind, brave, strong, likes to get on my nerves a bit too much but you were the same way weren't you? He's even saved my life. When you think about it, he's the real life Prince Charming." Rika lightly joked, "I miss you so much dad. I wish you were still here to meet Naruto. The two of you would get along great. Anyways I just came by to let you know that I've found him and that I've kept my promise. But please, keep watching over me." Rika said as a lone tear escaped her eye as she wore a smile on her face. She soon turned to leave but when she did she felt like as if someone placed a hand on her upper back and gave her a light push in Naruto's direction. When she turned to see who it was she nothing there, but she just couldn't help but feel like it was her father. With that she smiled and ran off towards her boyfriend.

XXX

**A/N: Hey everyone sorry for the longer than expected wait. I've had little time to write this week due to work but I managed to get chapter 13 done for you. Anyways I thank you all for support so far. Initially I was planning to begin the Tamers training in this chapter but the date ended up being much longer than expected, also the training would've just thrown off the mood that was already established so I decided to hold that off for the next chapter. Anyways I hope you all liked the glimpse into Rika's past and how she lost her father. Sure it may have been a bit dark considering the depraved reason I had that one guy take an interest in Rika but I think it actually makes it better since it more than likely carries more weight to it.**

**Also if your wondering why I had Rika sing the opening to SAO, well I think the song just accurately describes the relationship the Naruto and Rika have in this story. Plus I like the song, its a good song if you haven't already I suggest you check it out. **

**I'm also gonna say this now. I cannot promise that my update schedule will pick up to what it once was, there may be times where I can get chapters out like I did before but I'm starting to get more hours at work which leaves me with less time to write so I can't promise daily chapters like before.**

**Anyways don't forget to leave a review and tell me what you think.**


	14. Training to be the Ultimate

**A Shinobi A Long Way from Home**

_Chapter XIV_

_Training to be the Ultimate_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Digimon

XXX

(Shinjuku Park)

It was 10:00 am and everyone was here and ready to begin their training. "Well it looks like everyone is here, did you all get a good night's sleep?" Naruto asked. He quickly got a nod from them. "Good so let's get started."

"Hey wait Naruto before we begin could you explain what it is we'll be doing?" asked Henry.

Naruto stared at the blue haired tamer before deciding to answer, "I guess, well the first thing that needs to be done is nothing more than physical conditioning."

"Physical conditioning, I thought you were gonna teach us to use our chakra?" Takato asked.

Naruto just let out a sigh, "Yes Takato I'm gonna teach you three to use chakra but there are things we need to do first before we get to that point. You see Chakra is basically the life energy of every living being. Everyone has it but some have more than others. Currently you three only have enough Chakra to keep your body alive but not enough to start throwing jutsu around safely. So what we are doing first is expanding your reserves."

"And how does physical conditioning help with this?" Rika asked this time.

Naruto just ran his hand through his hair, "Chakra is made up of two separate energies. The first is physical and second is spiritual. The best way to increase your reserves is to train both of these energies, you can increase your physical energy by training the body and making it stronger through work outs. However your spiritual energy is different. Your spiritual energy is made up or your memories and experiences not to mention your mental discipline. The best way to train this is through meditation. If you train both of these energies you then strengthen them and expand your chakra reserves." Naruto gave them a minute to soak all of this in and waited for them to see if they have any questions. They had none so Naruto decided to continue, "However this method is far too slow for the amount of time we have." he said once again getting looks of confusion from the tamers.

"What do you mean Whiskers?" Rika asked.

Naruto just gave another sigh, "I'm afraid that using only this method it would take you all a few years to get your reserves high enough to where we could get you to start using jutsu. And I get the feeling that something very ugly is going to rear its head soon so we don't necessarily have the luxury of time."

The others began to get worried looks on their faces, "What do you mean? Are you saying that some serious threat is on its way?" Takato asked.

"I can't be too certain Takato but I have this gut feeling that something bad is coming our way and soon, and my gut is never wrong." Naruto told them, not wanting to tell them that Fanglongmon gave him this warning and feared that his power wasn't enough. He didn't want to burden them with the knowledge that they could be facing an enemy stronger than the God of the Digital World.

"So what are we gonna do about this then?" Henry asked.

"Don't worry, I believe I have a solution to that problem." Naruto said.

"Really what?" asked Rika.

"Well you see I was planning on having Kurama channel a very, and I cannot stress this enough, very small portion of his chakra into each of you every couple of days to help get your Chakra network moving not to mention get your bodies used to the feel of Chakra running through them. This will also allow your Chakra network to grow and increase your reserves." Naruto said, explaining his plan.

Now the tamers were even more confused, "Wait why does it have to be small amounts, why not just load us up on chakra so we can begin training? Also why does it have to be Kurama, why can't you do it?" Takato asked.

Naruto gave Takato a very intense look telling them all that he was very serious about this, "There are a few reasons. First, it has to be a small amount because if I give you more chakra than your body can handle, the results could be explosive." Naruto said getting horrified looks from the three tamers and their Digimon. "Also I want Kurama to do it because he has far much better control over his chakra than I do so it would be safer with him doing it. While my control has improved greatly I'd feel better knowing that a being made entirely of chakra and has had hundreds of years of experience controlling his chakra doing this since he is less likely to make a mistake."

The tamers quickly understood why Naruto wasn't going to do it himself. With all of that said Naruto just had one last thing to tell them, "Now that you all know what it is we are going to be doing for the foreseeable future there is just one thing I need to tell you. While this method should work to help cut down on some time don't go ahead and be expecting immediate results. I imagine that it'll be a few weeks before we can start focusing on you all harnessing your chakra. Now before we begin training is there anymore questions?" Naruto asked.

Surprisingly there was one but it wasn't the tamers that asked, "And what are we going to be doing while you're training Rika and the other two?" asked Renamon.

Naruto just grinned, "Oh don't think I forgot about you three Renamon. You three are also gonna be training."

This got surprised looks from the three Digimon, "What I thought you were only going to train them not us too." Terriermon said.

"Oh Terriermon, that just wouldn't be fair. Why should your human partners be over here sweating and working hard in order to fight beside you all while you just get to sit there and watch? Nope, you three are training as well so when your tamers are finally ready to fight by your side you'll all be ready to watch each other's back. Remember those that break the rules are scum but those that abandon their comrades are worse than scum and not taking this time here to improve your skills might as well be considered future abandonment." Naruto finished his speech with a deadly serious look.

All of them there except for a certain confused red raptor were surprised at how serious Naruto was about all of this. It was then a question appeared in Rika's mind, "Hey wait, how are you gonna train us and the Digimon at the same time?"

As soon as she finished that question Naruto made a seal-less Shadow Clone. "Ok all of the Digimon come with me." said the clone. With that the group split up so that Naruto could focus on training the tamers while his clone handled the Digimon.

"Now before we start I just want to say one thing, you all asked for this and so there is no backing out. I will not go easy on any of you. You will hate me, you will curse me, you will want nothing more than to see my head on a stick in redemption for you future suffering. I will work you past your breaking points everyday but when we this is over you will all thank me now let us get started, I want you all to run ten laps around this clearing." Naruto said with a mischievous grin on his face. When the tamers looked the clearing was the size of three soccer fields and groaned that they'd have to run ten laps around it, "Why did you all groan, perhaps you want to run an additional ten laps?" Naruto asked.

"NO!" all three of them shouted.

"Well if you don't want to run them I suggest you all get moving." Naruto said. It took the tamers a good two hours to run the ten laps and they were exhausted once they were done. "Ah now that was a good warm up." Naruto said as he stretched out his muscles.

_THAT WAS A WARM UP!_ All three of them internally shouted. They felt like they ran a marathon. "We'll take a fifteen minute break before we continue." Naruto said knowing that the three of them need to catch their breath.

Meanwhile over with the Digimon Naruto's clone was sparing and royally kicking the shit out of the four rookie level Digimon, Falcomon was not excused from training. His main priority was to give Guilmon and Terriermon more experience fighting while at the same time pushing them to their limit. He was also trying to make them more observant of their opponent and their surroundings. Renamon of course was the first one to pick up on the second part since she is the most experienced fighter of the group aside from Falcomon who has been doing this training for a while so already knew the purpose of it. However there was another part to the training, a newer part that none of them knew about.

"Come on guys, I haven't even broken a sweat yet." Naruto taunted the four exhausted Digimon.

"You wouldn't be that cocky if we were in our Champion forms." Terriermon said in between gasps of breath.

Naruto shook his head, "The purpose of this current training isn't for you guys to try and overpower me, which is why I want you to fight in your rookie forms, not that you could overpower me as Champions. You all may have a slim chance if you were all at the Ultimate level. However your best bet would only be that the four of you would need to be Mega level in order to beat me." he said with not a hint of arrogance in his voice.

"Then what is the purpose to of this training?" asked Guilmon.

"To better read our opponent and being mindful of our surroundings." Renamon answered for him.

Naruto smiled, "You're mostly right but there is one other thing I'm trying to teach you four."

They all thought hard on the previous spar trying to think of what it was they were missing. Falcomon especially since he knew Naruto the best and was trying to figure out where they went wrong, they all attacked him and fought him with the best of their abilities. They all fought as hard as they did as if they were fighting by themselves. _Wait, by ourselves. That must be what he wants._ "You want us to fight as a team, don't you Naruto." Falcomon called out.

Naruto's smile stretched even further as he began clapping his hands, "Good job you finally figured it out. I wasn't expecting you to get it so soon Falcomon."

Falcomon just grinned, "Yeah well thanks, but why do you want us to fight as a team?"

Naruto's smile faltered at what he thought was probably a stupid question. "Duh, teamwork is important in our group. Now that we are no longer fighting amongst ourselves we need to know how to fight together. We need to know each other's strengths' and weakness'. We may end up fighting some pretty powerful foes in the future and teamwork might just save our lives."

"But couldn't you just go in and kick their ass like you did with IceDevimon?" Terriermon asked.

Naruto just face palmed, "You're missing the point, you guys shouldn't rely on me to bail you guys out of a fight. Me entering the fight should be a last resort. Basically I'm our group's secret weapon considering most if not just about every Digimon expects humans to be weak and of no threat so they're quick to underestimate me allowing me to quickly take them down. However that still doesn't excuse you guys from learning to be better fighters and grow stronger. You need to be and act like a team, you each have crucial roles and if you fulfill your role than you four will be a force to be reckoned with."

Now the four Digimon were very interested to know what exactly these 'roles' that Naruto spoke of are. "If what you say is true, then what are our 'roles' as you put it?" Renamon asked.

Naruto smirked, "It's not that hard to figure out, you Renamon are a skilled fighter with a very powerful finisher move. The downside is that it takes too charge up. So your job would be to fight, analyze and finish." Naruto said as he turned his gaze to Guilmon "Now Guilmon, you are the powerhouse of the group. You can take a beating and still keep fighting not to mention that your attacks are quite powerful. Your job is to basically keep fighting, doing whatever you can to wear down the enemy." Once finished Naruto turned his gaze to Falcomon, "Now Falcomon your the fastest of the group, not to mention the stealthiest. However you lack most of the raw power say that Guilmon has so you'd be best at diversions and sneak attacks, a shinobi's specialty am I right?"

"You got that right." Falcomon said.

"What about me?" asked Terriermon.

"You Terriermon are different, you aren't as fast as Falcomon or as powerful as Guilmon or as skilled as Renamon but I know that you are intelligent and tricky in your own right. So you're mostly a mixed member. You can basically act in any role that is needed at the given time." Naruto said to the long eared rabbit. He then decided to give them a few more minutes of rest before getting back to training.

(A Few Hours Later)

Naruto finally decided to call an end to today's training and currently there were three humans and two Digimon laid out flat in exhaustion. Falcomon was better off than the others since he's used to Naruto's training methods and Renamon did her best to keep herself in upward sitting position but even that was a chore for her. "Hate you, hate you so much Whiskers." Rika managed to get out in between desperate gasps of air.

"Ohhhh the pain, make it stop." Takato groaned.

"Naruto, you can go straight to hell." Henry said, his usual need for manners already being thrown out the window after their 'warm up'. Yeah he made them not only do that run but the usual push-ups and sit-ups. After that, they went into their Taijutsu lessons where Naruto taught them some fighting forms, except for Henry since he already had a fighting style due to his practice of the martial arts though Naruto gave him some pointers to help him clean it up a bit. He also did sparing sessions, while he didn't go all out on them but he still went hard enough that they were just covered in bruises. And not once did any of them manage to land a hit. And if they ever complained about something then he'd just add something else on to their work load. Eventually they got around to meditation, something Henry already having a little bit of experience in since his martial arts sensei encourages the practice. Only to finish up with another freaking spar, the guy was a fucking sadist.

"Wow, day one and I already have you guys cursing my name, must be a new record." Naruto said with a grin. Naruto then decided now was the best time to use Kurama's chakra on them. With that Naruto went over to each one of them and had Kurama channel a small portion of his chakra into the three tamers and they were quick to notice the foreign energy enter their body.

"What is this that I'm feeling?" Takato asked.

It was after that he asked that question that he and the others noticed that most of the pain had vanished. They all sat up and got a good look at themselves noticing that all of the bruises were gone. "Whisker's what did you do?" asked a confused red head.

Naruto just grinned, "I channeled some Kurama's chakra into you all like I said I would. Kurama's chakra has a lot of regenerative properties so most of your wounds should be gone." (A/N: Yes this is possible, Madara pulled this stunt in the FGSW after Sasuke stabbed him in the arm just after being resurrected) With that said their first day was completed and Naruto let them go home to rest up.

(A Few Days Later)

These last few days have been exhausting and miserable for the three tamers and their Digimon. Naruto put them through utter hell, though nowhere near the intensity of Gai and Lee's youthful work outs. Naruto seriously doubted that even he could survive those. You needed something special to survive those work outs, something neither Naruto nor the other tamers had. What was needed was a green tracksuit, a glossy straight bowl cut hair style and the most ridiculously oversized eyebrows anyone has ever seen. Without any of those no one could survive that training.

Currently Naruto was at home playing this game that's had a lot of hype called Assassin's Creed Unity. He was in the middle of a mission when he all of sudden saw Falcomon acting strange. "Hey Falcomon what's up?"

"I don't know Naruto but I feel like something is trying to pull me towards it but something else is protecting me." Falcomon said effectively confusing the blonde.

"Ok, you wanna try and make sense this time?" Naruto asked sarcastically.

Falcomon just shrugged, "I don't know any other way to put it. I feel like something is trying to drag me off somewhere but…" he was caught off when began to feel something approaching, something powerful.

Naruto noticed the distant look in his partner's eyes, "But what?" he asked.

"Naruto something's coming." Falcomon quickly said.

"Ahhh will you start making sense! What the hell is going on?" Naruto shouted as he started pulling some of his hair.

"There's a Digimon coming, a powerful one." Falcomon simply said to his tamer to let him know of the situation.

Naruto quickly calmed down and gained a serious look, "Where?" was the simple question. However before Falcomon could say anything they heard what sounded like an explosion and felt the floor beneath them shake. Naruto quickly ran towards a window and saw a tear in the sky with what looked like digital wire framing moving as if it was the surface of the water. He then heard his D-Ark going off and saw that the arrow was pointing towards what he learned to be the Hypnos Towers. It wasn't widely known that those towers held a top secret government agency that studies Digimon. The only reason he knew this is because he had one of his clones tail Yamaki all the way back there after their last encounter. Man their security sucked. His clone practically walked right in there doing almost nothing to hide his presence. Naruto then looked at his partner, "Let's go." was the simple command from the blonde.

Falcomon gave Naruto a nod, "Yeah time to kick some ass."

(Shinjuku Park – Just across the street from the Hypnos Towers)

Henry and Terriermon were calmly walking towards what would probably be their next fight when they passed by a blonde man wearing sunglasses, a man that they recognized. "You." Yamaki growled in recognition of Henry.

Henry just turned around to face him, "Yeah me, what do you want?"

Yamaki however quickly turned around and picked up Henry by the collar of his shirt saying that it 'was Henry's fault.' "Leave him alone!" Terriermon demanded but Yamaki didn't relent. However he was quick to notice a knife now poised to slit his neck.

"I'd do what the rabbit said if I were you." Naruto said in a cold and serious tone.

Yamaki was quick to notice Naruto, "Come to help your little friend?"

Naruto however wasn't in the mood for a Q&A. "I said drop him Yamaki otherwise I'll be forced to make you."

Yamaki's eyes widened behind his sunglasses, "How did you learn my name?"

Naruto just smirked, "You and Hypnos really need to up your security if one can practically just walk right through the front door with no one asking questions." Naruto had no problem answering that question but his eyes quickly turned back to that of a battle hardened veteran ready to strike down his enemy in a moment's notcie, "There I've answered your question now. Put. Him. Down."

Yamaki finally relented, "You're not worth it." he said as he dropped the blue-haired tamer.

It was at this point that Rika showed up, "Hey who's the thug?" she asked as Renamon appeared behind her.

"Trouble." was all Henry said.

It was then they heard Yamaki yell at them, "You ignorant, Digimon loving freaks. You and your disgusting pets, now look at what you've done."

Naruto however smirked, "What's the matter Yamaki, this is after all you and your organizations doing why not grow a pair and take the credit for it, or in this case blame!" Naruto shouted, taunting the older blonde.

Rika and Henry just looked at their blonde friend wondering why he was antagonizing the older blonde about this. However Henry decided to focus on the bigger problem, "Hey are you two ready to back up Takato?"

Naruto and Rika quickly turned to Henry giving him a nod or verbal confirmation that it's time to go. So they turned and ran towards the Digital Field that engulfed the Hypnos Towers. Renamon decided to go on ahead and took off towards them at full speed. It didn't take her long to fly overhead of Takato and Guilmon. "Renamon." said in surprise though he really shouldn't be. He then watched he quickly jump up and scale the building.

"That's the way up." Guilmon said.

"Yup." Takato said getting ready to send Guilmon up there.

However he was stopped by Henry, "Don't go yet!"

Takato quickly looked at the blue-haired tamer, "Kay why not?" Takato then turned to Rika, "What's up?"

"Not you." the ever witty Rika came back with as she pulled out her D-Ark.

"I meant up there!" Takato shouted in annoyance.

"So did I, be quiet." Rika quickly shot back shutting up the virus type tamer and getting an amused smirk from Naruto. She continued to look through the eyes of Renamon thanks to her D-Ark but saw nothing. "I don't get it there's nothing there." shocking the three boys behind her.

"Nothing there?!" asked a confused Naruto.

"It doesn't make any sense." Henry said throwing in his own two cents.

"It's a Digital Field there has got to be something there." said Takato as he tried to make sense of this.

It was then that something came up on her screen, "Hold up." she said as what looked like a tiger with wings revealed itself. "There you are. But why am I not receiving any data, what kind of Digimon is this?" Rika asked to no one in particular.

However Terriermon decided to answer, "Who cares, what's it gonna do bite me? We can take him you ready." Terriermon said as he hopped off his tamers head.

Naruto smirked, "Terriermon has got the right attitude. But since we don't know anything about this Digimon we need to be careful."

"Right, I'll make Renamon Digivolve." Rika said as she ran closer to the towers.

Takato quickly pulled out a card, "Rika you could use this card!" he shouted as he threw it towards her.

Rika caught it and swiped it through her D-Ark, "Digi-Modify…Digivolution Activate!"

DIGIVOLUTION

"Renamon Digivolve too…Kyuubimon!"

"Oh yeah now were talking." Rika said getting psyched up for the fight.

Meanwhile Naruto just turned to Takato, "Dude that dramatic throw of yours was completely pointless. You do realize she probably has fifty copies of that card." Takato however just blushed in embarrassment rubbed the back of his head like a certain blonde.

(On Top of the Towers)

"How about a dance big boy?" Kyuubimon asked as she ran towards her foe. The tiger only responded with a roar as he began his charge, "Tough guy huh?" Kyuubimon asked as they leaped past each other with only inches between them. She quickly then rolled up into a ball, "Dragon Wheel!"

Kyuubimon's aim was spot on when she fired her attack as it hit the tiger dead on and completely engulfed him. However the tiger just ran straight through the fire barely feeling a thing, "Samurai Tiger Tail!" shouted the tiger as it swung its transformed tail into Kyuubimon, he hit her several times inflicting massive damage each time and flung off the roof to fall to the ground below.

The tamers saw Kyuubimon get flung over the side of the building and were surprised and worried but none more than Rika, _Kyuubimon no._ Rika thought in a panic as she saw Kyuubimon's form break apart but reform several times, believing that she might get destroyed. However Kyuubimon lucked out as she was only forced back to her rookie form and her body stabilized as she fell.

Terriermon quickly got an angry look in his eye, "That's it I'm going Henry, that tiger's toast."

"Digi-Modify…Digivolution Activate!"

DIGIVOLUTION

"Terriermon Digivolve too…Gargomon! Gargo Laser!" Gargomon shouted as he blasted the ground beneath him to launch him into the air towards the roof.

"I got her!" shouted Naruto as he channeled Kurama's chakra to give him his chakra clothes and extended one of his chakra arms out to catch Renamon. Once he caught her he laid her gently on the ground so as to not aggravate any of her injuries.

Rika quickly dropped to Renamon's side, "Renamon…are you ok?" she asked hesitantly as she put her hand on Renamon's shoulder.

"So…strong…Ultimate…possibly even…Mega." Renamon said weakly.

"Don't try to talk." Rika said wanting Renamon to conserve as much of her strength as possible.

Takato looked on with worry, "Naruto are you sure you shouldn't just go up there and fight. I mean if Kyuubimon was defeated that easily then our Digimon don't stand a chance."

Naruto however quickly turned to face Takato and leveled an intense glare at him, "Stop being such a coward Takato. Our Digimon can win this. I shouldn't have to step in to fight anytime things look a little hazy. Have some Goddamn faith in them."

Naruto would've continued but was interrupted by Henry's worried cry for his partner, "Gargomon!" Henry called out looking at his D-Ark hoping for some information, "I gotta help him. If you don't got any data on that thing I won't know if I'm using the right cards." Henry then looked up and saw the Tiger fly around to the other side. "Grr he's gone around to the other side. GARGOMON!"

Naruto for his part was getting worried for Gargomon so he turned to his partner, "Falcomon get up there!"

"Right." Falcomon said as he took to the air.

"Digi-Modify…Digivolution Activate!"

DIGIVOLUTION

"Falcomon Digivolve too…Peckmon!"

(Back on the Roof)

_Aww nuts. _thought Gargomon as he reloaded his weapons. It was then that he saw his opponent charging right at him.

"Tiger Wing Blades!" the Tiger shouted as he launched his attack at a defenseless Gargomon.

"Kunai Wing!" shouted Peckmon as he cut off the tiger's attack and saving Gargomon in the process.

"Phew, thanks Peckmon I owe ya." Gargomon said.

"Don't thank me just yet, we still have to take care of the kitty over here. So got any info for me?" Peckmon asked.

"Yeah, he usually circles around before he attacks." Gargomon told him.

While those two were exchanging information the tiger took great interest in Peckmon, "Hmm a ninja Digimon, interesting." he said aloud getting the two Champion's attention.

"Yeah I'm a ninja what's it to you?" asked Peckmon.

"Oh you should know, just take a good look at me and you'll figure it out." the Tiger said.

Peckmon did as the tiger said and inspected him closely before it hit him like a GranLocomon, "You're a samurai Digimon."

"Correct, I'm Mihiramon, Samurai warrior and loyal servant to the Digimon Sovereign." the now name Mihiramon said.

"The Sovereign? If you serve the Sovereign then why are you attacking the human world?" asked Gargomon.

"I'm afraid that is none of your business, now I believe it's time to continue where we left off." Mihiramon said before attacking Peckmon with his Samurai Tiger Tail. Peckmon quickly jumped into the air as Gargomon came in with a Bunny Pummel but Mihiramon took to the air and followed after Peckmon. Right now Peckmon was seriously wishing they were on the ground since it was taking him everything he had to stay out of range of Mihiramon's attacks and being on the roof doesn't do him much since there is hardly enough room for both him and Gargomon never mind Mihiramon. At the same time Gargomon was doing his best to shoot down the oversized kitten but his Gargo Laser was do little if any damage what so ever.

Peckmon deciding he was done play cat and mouse, or in this case cat and bird, Peckmon turned around and launch his Kunai Wing at Mihiramon. Since Mihiramon was gaining on the flying ostrich he had little room to dodge the sharp pointy objects heading his way. However the Ultimate level Digimon showed off a great feat of aerial maneuverability as he managed to barrel roll to dodge most of the knives but was still clipped by a few. "Samurai Tiger Tail!" shouted Mihiramon as he did a forward aerial roll and slammed down hard on Peckmon's head.

"Peckmon!" shouted Gargomon as he ran to the side of his injured comrade. Peckmon managed to get back on his feet but was struggling to keep standing. Mihiramon was actually impressed that Peckmon was back on his feet. "Peckmon are you alright?" asked Gargomon.

"I'm gonna have killer headache when this is all over but otherwise fine." Peckmon answered.

"You two have done well against someone of my caliber but I believe our time is up." Mihiramon said as he charged the two champions. "Tiger Wing Blade!" shouted Mihiramon as he struck the ground with his tail creating a massive shockwave that hit both Gargomon and Peckmon.

(Down Below)

"No Peckmon/Gargomon!" shouted Naruto and Henry to their respective partners as they watch them revert back to their rookie form.

"That's enough my turn." Guilmon said with determination in his voice.

"Wha…Hey!" Takato shouted.

"I'm gonna need a lot of peanut butter and bread after this one!" Guilmon called back.

Takato just gained a worried look in his eyes as he pulled out a card from his pocket. _Here goes nothing…come on boy._ Takato thought as he watch Guilmon's back.

"Digi-Modify…Digivolution and Hyper Wing Activate!"

DIGIVOLUTION

"Guilmon Digivolve too…Growlmon!"

"Good luck boy!" Takato called out to his partner as he watch him fly to the roof thanks to the six golden wings on his back. But he also watched as Terriermon and Falcomon plummeted to the ground only to be caught by Naruto's Chakra arms again.

"Falcomon, are you alright?" asked Naruto.

"I…should be…fine Naruto…but …Takato." Falcomon said gaining the goggle wearing tamer's attention, "Mihiramon…always circles…around…right before…he attacks…the first…time." Falcomon finally finished as he fell into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.

"Ok…Thanks Falcomon." Takato said as he looked into his D-Ark only to watch Mihiramon pass right by. He continued to watch for the perfect opportunity until he finally saw it, "NOW GROWLMON DO IT!"

(On the Roof)

Growlmon heard his tamers command and extended one of the blades on his arm, "Dragon Slash!" Growlmon cut right across Mihiramon's mid-section earning a roar of pain from the tiger. "Pyro Blaster!" Growlmon unleashed a stream of powerful flames at the tiger however the tiger powered through the pain from Growlmon's last attack and the flames of the current one and bit down hard on Growlmon's shoulder causing the Champion level Dinosaur to roar out in pain as his body began to destabilize like Kyuubimon's did.

(Back on the Ground)

At the same time Growlmon was bitten Takato grabbed the same shoulder as the one that Growlmon was bitten on and felt extreme pain while also dropping his cards and D-Ark which finally pulled up Mihiramon's information. "Uh I can feel it, it's over." said Takato as he collapsed and fell unconscious.

"What's wrong with him?" called out Rika gaining the attention of the two other boys.

"Takato!" shouted both Henry and Naruto.

(Unknown Place)

Takato was now officially confused. He was currently floating in god only knows where with a ton of clocks all moving at different speeds. "Is this a dream?" he asked himself as he cringed in pain. "Why am I feeling pain when Growlmon was the one that got hurt and while we're at it where am I?" asked Takato.

"Tamer." came a familiar voice from behind Takato, "Tamer it's not over yet."

Takato immediately brightened up, "Hey Growlmon your alive!" But then the way that Growlmon referred to him caught up to him, "Wait you don't even recognize me do you?"

"Of course, just seemed like such a serious moment." Growlmon said, much to Takato's relief.

"Yeah it was but don't do that again." Takato said.

"Ok sorry, anyway like I was saying you've got to let me fight again. So we made a couple of mistakes, no big deal. I know I can take but I'm really going to need your help this time, are you in? Takato I need you." Growlmon said. The fact that he referred to Takato by his real name and not Takatomon let Takato know how serious Growlmon was being. Then flashbacks of Renamon, Terriermon and Falcomon all falling from the top of the tower flooded his mind.

"But I'm…not worthy. IT'S ALL MY FAULT!" Takato shouted as he reached out to close the distance between him and Growlmon, "You wouldn't have gotten hurt if it wasn't for me, Naruto's right I've been a coward and I'm so sorry. But if you're really willing to give me one more chance then I no choice but take it. GROWLMON!"

"Takato!"

"We will fight one more time…TOGETHER!" Takato shouted as he woke up and grabbed a hold of Calumon's hand screaming at the top of his lungs the entire time. However he quickly realized where he was, "Eh yeah hey Calumon." he said nervously.

"Did anyone ever tell you, you talk in your sleep?" the little creampuff asked.

"Welcome back how are you feeling?" asked a relieved Henry.

"What a wuss I can't believe you fainted." Rika teased getting an embarrassed laugh from Takato.

Naruto was about to tease the goggle wearing tamer when they all of a sudden heard helicopters and gun fire all right above them. "Guns won't stop him, its gonna take something a lot stronger than that." said Henry.

"Brilliant Einstein and what do you suggest, send Naruto up there. Those people will see him and report him to the government. It's still too soon for that making Growlmon our only hope, but even he's been beaten." Rika scolded, aggravated with this whole situation.

"Don't worry Rika-chan, I don't care if they report me to the officials, it's not like there is anything they can do about it." Naruto said as he prepared to make his way up to the top of the skyscraper.

However a voice stopped him cold in his tracks, "I haven't finished yet!" shouted Takato getting everyone's attention. "We haven't finished yet. Growlmon is still willing to fight and as long as I'm still breathing I'll be right there by his side. It's time to use the power that brought us here in the first place. Are you guys ready cause we're gonna do this even if you're not." Takato said with a new fire in his eyes, one that impressed Naruto greatly and one he also approved of.

"He's got the card." Henry said in amazement.

"Ok I'm with ya." Rika said.

"He's all yours Takato, go for it." Naruto said as he stepped back.

"That's more like it, this battle has only just begun!" Takato shouted as he held up the blue card.

"Digi-Modify…Matrix Digivolution!"

_Crystal Matrix Activate!_ Calumon internally called out releasing more of his dormant powers.

MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION

"Growlmon Digivolve too…WarGrowlmon!"

"What's going on!" shouted Mihiramon as he was flown backwards.

"Our little boy has grown up." Henry said.

"I'll give you that one." Rika said agreeing with Henry.

"Yeah WarGrowlmon, Cyborg type, Ultimate level." Takato shouted.

"Nice presentation but nobody defeats Mihiramon Samurai Tiger Tail!" Mihiramon shouted as he went all out on the newly Digivolved Ultimate. "How were you able to Digivolve to this level, don't tell me that human had something to do with it." Mihiramon questioned as WarGrowlmon tried to block the rapid strikes.

(On the Ground)

Takato was currently stumbling around and grunting as if he was being hit. "What's wrong?" asked Henry.

"Uh you don't look so good?" Rika said restating the obvious.

"I feel every hit." Takato said as he gathered more of his remaining strength, "Alright that's enough."

(On the Roof)

"Oh so you wanna play with the kitty huh, Armored Tiger Tail!" Mihiramon said calling out his stronger version of his Samurai Tiger Tail.

(On the Ground)

"Right time to take the tiger by the tail, let's do this together." Takato said as he took a step forward. On the roof Mihiramon made to stab WarGrowlmon with his now sharp and pointed tail. But WarGrowlmon managed to catch it with ease. "As your tamer I say finish it." Takato commanded.

"As you say so tamer." WarGrowlmon said as he yanked Mihiramon towards him, "You've been a very naughty kitty Atomic…"

"BLASTER!" Takato finished for WarGrowlmon.

WarGrowlmon unleashed two massive lasers from his chest and hit Mihiramon at point blank range. "GAAHH FOOLS YOU AND YOUR HUMANS, DIGIMON COULD'VE HAD SUPREME POWER OVER BOTH WORLDS BUT YOU HAD TO RUIN EVERYTHING GAAAAHHHHHH!"

(Up above in a helicopter)

"I can't believe it those kids were actually able to defeat him. And all this time I thought they were just playing that stupid game. This is gonna require additional research." Yamaki thought out loud.

(On the Ground)

WarGrowlmon had just landed and Takato didn't waste a second to run up and hug his massive partner. "Takatomon." WarGrowlmon said getting the attention of his tamer. "You are worthy, tamer. Thank you for fighting by my side."

"I didn't do anything, but trust you and I guess myself. Look like we're going to need a lot more peanut butter and bread." Takato said as tears of joy began to stream down his face and he continued to hug the WarGrowlmon's finger which was bigger than his whole body.

XXX

**A/N: Well there is chapter 14 for you. Sorry about the late update but as I said my hours at work have gone up plus I've had some difficulty with this one. Sure most of it comes straight from its respective episode but I just didn't know how I wanted to transition it from the training to the Mihiramon incident. Not to mention how I'll add Naruto into the mix.**

**Now I guess I should explain some of the things in this chapter. First of all how the tamers can have Chakra without the Shinju. Well if it wasn't obvious then let me explain my whole understanding of this subject. Through out all of Naruto Chakra is basically defined as everyone's life energy and they depend on it in order to survive. Which is why sever cases of Chakra Exhaustion can lead to death. So by that right everyone should've had Chakra well before Kaguya came along. She was THE FIRST to gain MASSIVE amounts of Chakra and CONTROL it thanks to the Shinju. In other words she discovered its existence. Otherwise if Chakra was passed down through hereditary****and genetic means then that would mean that every single person alive in the ninja world by the time Naruto starts would be related to Kaguya and that is just implausible. Now as for why the tamers have it, its more or less the fact that as I explained, chakra is life energy. But the Digimon universe doesn't have something like the God Tree or the Shinju to help them discover Chakra so they would forever remain blissfully ignorant to its existence until Naruto came into the picture.**

**Also if your wondering why I kept it as WarGrowlmon time in this chapter, this was a big moment for Takato and helped him develop as a tamer a lot. So I didn't want to steal his thunder for this one.**

**Anyways I hope that explains everything so I want to remind you all to leave a comment to tell me what you think and I wish you all a Merry Christmas or a Happy Whatever-It-Is-You-Celebrate-At-This-Time-Of-Year.**


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